Control apparatus and method for controlling operation target device in vehicle, and steering wheel

ABSTRACT

A first detector is configured to detect a state where a first area in a touch sensor mounted on a grip portion that a driver grips on a steering wheel is touched. A second detector is configured to detect a state where a particular input operation is performed on a second area located on the upper side of the first area in the touch sensor. A controller is configured to control an operation target device to be operated with the touch sensor according to the particular input operation when the first detector detects the state where the first area is touched and the second detector detects the state where the particular input operation is performed.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a Continuation of PCT Application No.PCT/JP2012/059712, filed on Apr. 9, 2012, and claims the priority ofJapanese Patent Applications No. 2011-176168, filed on Aug. 11, 2011,No. 2011-200563, filed on Sep. 14, 2011, No. 2011-201354, filed on Sep.15, 2011, No. 2011-201356, filed on Sep. 15, 2011, No. 2011-206096,filed on Sep. 21, 2011, No. 2011-206099, filed on Sep. 21, 2011, No.2011-206150, filed on Sep. 21, 2011, No. 2011-212025, filed on Sep. 28,2011, No. 2012-007894, filed on Jan. 18, 2012, No. 2012-043554, filed onFeb. 29, 2012, and No. 2012-073562, filed on Mar. 28, 2012, the entirecontents of all of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to a control apparatus and method forcontrolling an operation target device, which is onboard equipment suchas a navigation device or a vehicle action control device that controlsactions of a vehicle such as a transmission and a direction indicator,and relates to a steering wheel suitable to operate the operation targetdevice.

Operation switches located on steering wheels, for operating onboardequipment such as an installed navigation device, are widely used invehicles (refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application PublicationNo. 2007-106353 (Patent Literature 1)).

The operation switches located on the steering wheel improve operabilitybecause a driver is not required to stretch the arm to operate theonboard equipment.

As is described in Patent Literature 1, such operation switches aregenerally located not on a circular portion of a steering wheel, whichis a grip portion that a driver grips with the hands, but on aconnection area connecting the circular portion and a center portion inwhich an air bag is housed.

Therefore, the driver is required to remove or widely slide the handsfrom the circular portion gripping for operating the operation switches.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-348123(Patent Literature 2) discloses that operation switches are located onaback surface or an inner side surface of a circular portion of asteering wheel.

SUMMARY

According to Patent Literature 2, since the operation switches arelocated on the circular portion, a driver can operate the operationswitches without removing or widely sliding the hands from the circularportion.

However, the operation switches described in Patent Literature 2 whichare push-button keys or recess/projection keys may have an adverseeffect on the driver when operating the steering wheel. Suchrecesses/projections are not preferable to be located on the circularportion that the driver grips.

Further, an operation target device should be prevented from beingunnecessarily operated with an operation unit, such as operationswitches located on a circular portion, when a driver has no intentionof operating the operation target device while gripping the circularportion during normal driving.

A first aspect of the embodiments provides a control apparatus forcontrolling an operation target device in a vehicle, including: a firstdetector configured to detect a state where a first area in a touchsensor mounted on a grip portion that a driver grips on a steering wheelis touched; a second detector configured to detect a state where aparticular input operation is performed on a second area located on theupper side of the first area in the touch sensor; and a controllerconfigured to control an operation target device to be operated with thetouch sensor according to the particular input operation when the firstdetector detects the state where the first area is touched and thesecond detector detects the state where the particular input operationis performed.

A second aspect of the embodiments provides a method for controlling anoperation target device in a vehicle, including: detecting a state wherea first area in a touch sensor mounted on a grip portion that a drivergrips on a steering wheel is touched; detecting a particular input beingperformed on a second area located on the upper side of the first areain the touch sensor in the state where the first area is touched; andcontrolling an operation target device to be operated with the touchsensor according to the particular input operation when detecting theparticular input operation being performed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a control apparatus for controlling anoperation target device in a vehicle according to each embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a flat partial view showing an example of a vehicle includingthe control apparatus for controlling an operation target deviceaccording to each embodiment.

FIG. 3A to FIG. 3E are views each showing an example of a location andrange of touch sensors mounted on a steering wheel according to eachembodiment.

FIG. 4 is a view showing another example of a location and range of thetouch sensors mounted on the steering wheel according to eachembodiment.

FIG. 5 is a view showing an example in which the touch sensors aremounted on a deformed steering wheel.

FIG. 6 is a partial perspective view showing an example of regions fromwhich sensor data is obtained while the touch sensor on the steeringwheel is held.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing coordinates in acircumferential direction in the cross section of the touch sensor.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a state where the touch sensor shown inFIG. 6 is developed.

FIG. 9 is a schematic view showing a state where each region shown inFIG. 8 is converted into a uniform size.

FIG. 10 is a view showing an example of a condition for determining thatthe touch sensor on the steering wheel is held.

FIG. 11A to FIG. 11E are schematic views showing examples of aparticular input operation performed on the touch sensor.

FIG. 12A to FIG. 12D are schematic views showing other examples of theparticular input operation performed on the touch sensor.

FIG. 13A to FIG. 13D are schematic views showing still other examples ofthe particular input operation performed on the touch sensor.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart for explaining the operation in each embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a schematic perspective view showing a constitution examplefor changing color when the touch sensor is operated.

FIG. 16 is a schematic perspective view showing a constitution examplefor changing a texture when the touch sensor is operated.

FIG. 17 is a plan view showing an embodiment of a steering wheel.

FIG. 18 is a view for explaining a turning angle of the steering wheel.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing specific processing in Step S4 in FIG.14.

FIG. 20 is a schematic view showing an example in which a driver holdsthe touch sensor during normal driving.

FIG. 21 is a schematic view showing an example in which a driver intendsto operate an operation target device while holding the touch sensor.

FIG. 22 is a schematic view showing a state where an operation invalidarea Ariv in FIG. 20 is omitted.

FIG. 23 is a plan view showing a state where the touch sensor shown inFIG. 6 is developed and explaining another constitution example fordetermining whether a driver intends to operate the operation targetdevice.

FIG. 24A to FIG. 24C are views each showing an example of an identicalinput operation performed concurrently on right and left touch sensorswith right and left hands.

FIG. 25A and FIG. 25B are views each showing an example of inputoperations conceived to be performed concurrently.

FIG. 26 is a view showing an example of predetermined input operationssequentially performed on right and left touch sensors with right andleft hands.

FIG. 27 is a view showing an example of input operations conceived to beperformed sequentially.

FIG. 28 is a view showing a first example of setting an operation modeaccording to a combination of input operations performed on right andleft touch sensors with right and left hands.

FIG. 29 is a view showing a second example of setting an operation modeaccording to a combination of input operations on both right and lefttouch sensors with right and left hands.

FIG. 30A and FIG. 30B are views each showing an example of dividing eacharea in the touch sensor by color.

FIG. 31A and FIG. 31B are views each showing an example of providingmarkers at boundaries of the respective areas in the touch sensor.

FIG. 32 is a view showing an example of decreasing the diameter of anoperation detection area in the touch sensor.

FIG. 33 is a view showing an example of increasing the diameter of theoperation detection area in the touch sensor.

FIG. 34 is a view showing an example of providing recess portions atboundaries in the touch sensor.

FIG. 35 is a view showing an example of providing projections atboundaries in the touch sensor.

FIG. 36A and FIG. 36B are views showing an example of changing color inthe operation detection area when determining that a grip detection areaof the touch sensor is held.

FIG. 37A and FIG. 37B are views showing an example of changing a textureof the operation detection area when determining that the grip detectionarea of the touch sensor is held.

FIG. 38 is a view showing an example of a track obtained when sliding afinger in a right-left direction.

FIG. 39A and FIG. 39B are views for explaining a track correction whensliding a finger in a right direction.

FIG. 40A and FIG. 40B are views for explaining a track correction whensliding a finger in a downward direction.

FIG. 41A to FIG. 41D are views for explaining an example of dragging inan oblique direction.

FIG. 42 is a partial perspective view for explaining a definition ofdragging in a horizontal direction and in a vertical direction accordingto an eighth embodiment.

FIG. 43 is a plan view for explaining a definition of dragging in eachof a horizontal direction and a vertical direction in a state where thetouch sensor is developed according to the eighth embodiment.

FIG. 44 is a plan view showing a modified constitution example of adeformed steering wheel.

FIG. 45 is a partially enlarged plan view of FIG. 44.

FIG. 46 is a cross-sectional view along the line A-A of FIG. 45.

FIG. 47A to FIG. 47C are cross-sectional views along the line B-B ofFIG. 45 and for explaining an ON/OFF switching operation by means of anON/OFF switching mechanism.

FIG. 48 is a flowchart for explaining the operation in the eighthembodiment when using the deformed steering wheel shown in FIG. 44.

FIG. 49 is a schematic view showing an example of holding staterecognition data showing how a driver holds the steering wheel on whichthe touch sensor is mounted.

FIG. 50 is a modified schematic view of FIG. 49 for ease ofcomprehension.

FIG. 51 is a schematic view showing another example of the holding staterecognition data showing how a driver holds the steering wheel on whichthe touch sensor is mounted.

FIG. 52 is a view showing an example of driver specification dataregistered in a driver database.

FIG. 53 is a flowchart for explaining a process when specifying adriver.

FIG. 54A and FIG. 54B are partial perspective views each showing stillanother example of the holding state recognition data showing how adriver holds the steering wheel on which the touch sensor is mounted.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION First Embodiment

Hereinafter, a control apparatus and method for controlling an operationtarget device in a vehicle according to a first embodiment will beexplained with reference to the accompanying drawings. Further, asteering wheel according to at least one embodiment will be explained.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, onboard equipment 100 is installed in adashboard of a vehicle. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the onboardequipment 100 includes a controller 10, a navigation processing unit 11,an audio reproduction unit 12, a television (TV) tuner 13, a videosignal processing unit 14, a video display 15, an audio signalprocessing unit 16, a display element 17, and a storage unit 18. Thecontroller 10 includes a detector 10 a.

The navigation processing unit 11 includes, for example, a storage unitfor storing map data and a GPS antenna. The navigation processing unit11 serves as a route guide in association with the controller 10.

The audio reproduction unit 12 reproduces audio signals stored in anoptical disc such as a compact disc or a semiconductor memory inaccordance with the control by the controller 10.

The TV tuner 13 receives TV broadcast wave signals from predeterminedbroadcasting stations in accordance with the control by the controller10.

Video signals output from the navigation processing unit 11 or the TVtuner 13 are input to the video signal processing unit 14 via thecontroller 10 and processed so as to be displayed on the video display15 such as a liquid crystal panel.

Audio signals output from the navigation processing unit 11, the audioreproduction unit 12 and the TV tuner 13 are input to the audio signalprocessing unit 16 and processed so as to be produced from an externalspeaker 20. The audio signal processing unit 16 includes an amplifier.

The speaker 20 is located, for example, in the inside of a door of thevehicle. The display element 17 is, for example, a light emitting diode(LED) and turns on or turns off depending on a contact state of a touchsensor 21 described below in accordance with the control by thecontroller 10. The display element 17 is located, for example, in acasing of the onboard equipment 10 so that the driver can visuallyrecognize the display element 17.

The display element 17 may be separated from the onboard equipment 100and located adjacent to a steering wheel 200 of the vehicle. The storageunit 18 is a nonvolatile memory.

As shown in FIG. 2, touch sensors 21 serving as an operation unit aremounted on a circular portion 200 r of the steering wheel 200. Thecircular portion 200 r is a grip portion that the driver grips duringdriving.

In the example shown in FIG. 2, the touch sensors 21 are mounted withinpredetermined angle ranges on both right and left sides of the circularportion 200 r. The touch sensors 21 are multi-touch sensors capable ofdetecting contact of plural parts.

The touch sensors 21 are each preferably mounted around 360 degrees ofthe circumference of the cross section in the radial direction of thecircular portion 200 r. Here, the touch sensors 21 may coversubstantially the entire circumference of the cross section of thecircular portion 200 r and are not required to be mounted completelyaround 360 degrees of the circumference of the cross section.

The driver grips part of the circular portion 200 r on which the touchsensors 21 are mounted. In FIG. 1, the output from the touch sensors 21is input into a sensor data generator 22. When the driver touches thetouch sensors 21 with the hands, a contact detection signal is inputinto the sensor data generator 22.

The sensor data generator 22 generates, based on the input contactdetection signal, sensor data including positional data showing whichregion in the touch sensors 22 the contact detection signal is obtainedfrom and then supplies the data to the controller 10. The touch sensors21 and the sensor data generator 22 may be integrated together, or thesensor data generator 22 may be positioned inside the controller 10.

The touch sensor 21 may be a projected capacitive (mutual capacitance)type touch sensor. An example of the touch sensor 21 mounted on thecircular portion 200 r may be a flexible touch panel developed by MICROTECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.

This flexible touch panel has a constitution in which a sensor portionis made of an ultra-slim plate glass with a thickness of 0.02 to 0.05mm, and the ultra-slim plate glass is attached to a polyethyleneterephthalate (PET) film.

There is almost no possibility that the touch sensors 21 mounted on thecircular portion 200 r are obstacles to operation of the steering wheel200 performed by the driver since the surfaces of the touch sensors 21do not have recesses/projections that the driver can recognize with thehands or fingers.

As indicated by dashed lines in FIG. 2, the touch sensors 21 and theonboard equipment 100 may be connected via electric wires placed insidethe steering wheel 200 and the dash board.

In FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a steering angle sensor 31 detects a turning angleof the steering wheel 200. A direction indicator sensor 32 detects adirection indicator 320 being operated. A shift lever sensor 33 detectsa position where a shift lever 330 is located.

The respective detection signals from the steering angle sensor 31, thedirection indicator sensor 32 and the shift lever sensor 33 are suppliedto the controller 10 via an in-vehicle communication unit 34.

The following is an explanation of examples of a location and range ofthe touch sensors 21 mounted on the circular portion 200 r of thesteering wheel 200 with reference to FIG. 3A to FIG. 3E. Note that thetop, the bottom, the right and the left described below represent thoseof the steering wheel 200 when the driver sees the steering wheel 200 ina state where the steering wheel 200 is not turned (in a state where thevehicle goes straight).

FIG. 3A is an example in which the touch sensor 21 is mounted on theentire circumference of the circular portion 200 r. FIG. 3B is anexample in which the touch sensors 21 are separately mounted withinpredetermined angle ranges on both upper right and upper left sides ofthe circular portion 200 r, as in the case of FIG. 2. FIG. 3C is anexample in which the touch sensor 21 is mounted within a predeterminedangle range only on the upper right side of the circular portion 200 r.

FIG. 3D is an example in which the touch sensors 21 are separatelymounted within predetermined angle ranges on both lower right and lowerleft sides of the circular portion 200 r. FIG. 3E is an example in whichthe touch sensor 21 is mounted in a relatively wide angle range on theupper side of the circular portion 200 r including the top thereof. FIG.3E corresponds to an example in which the touch sensors 21 on the rightand left sides shown in FIG. 3B are connected together.

FIG. 4 is an example in which the touch sensors 21 on the right and leftsides in FIG. 3B are each divided into an upper touch sensor 21 a and alower touch sensor 21 b. In the example of FIG. 4, the upper touchsensor 21 a detects contact of the index finger and the thumb, and thelower touch sensor 21 b detects contact of mainly the palm, the secondfinger and the third finger.

FIG. 5 is an example in which the touch sensors 21 are mounted on adeformed steering wheel 201 not having a round shape. The touch sensors21 are mounted on straight portions 201 s on both right and left sidesof the deformed steering wheel 201. The driver drives while gripping thestraight portions 201 s serving as grip portions, and the touch sensors21 detect contact of the palms and the fingers.

The following is how to detect contact of the palms and the fingers withthe touch sensors 21 mounted on the upper right and upper left sides ofthe circular portion 200 r in a state where the driver is holding thetouch sensors 21, as shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is an example showing contact ranges of the palm and the fingerswhen the driver holds the touch sensor 21 on the right side in FIG. 2.Note that FIG. 6 is an example, and the way of gripping the circularportion 200 r with the hand of the driver and the size of the hand arenot particularly limited.

FIG. 6 shows plural hatched detection regions R indicated by referencesign Tp where the contact of the palm is detected, and shows pluralhatched detection regions R indicated by reference sign Tt where thecontact of the thumb is detected.

Hereinafter, reference sign Tp is referred to as a palm contactdetection portion Tp, and reference sign Tt is referred to as a thumbcontact detection portion Tt. The index finger comes into contact withthe rear side of the touch sensor 21, which is the traveling directionside of the vehicle not shown in FIG. 6.

As shown in FIG. 6, the touch sensor 21 has the plural detection regionsR that detect the contact of the palm and the fingers. Coordinates areassigned to the respective detection regions R of the touch sensor 21.

As shown in FIG. 6, one of the coordinates of the detection regions R atthe lower end of the touch sensor 21 in the circumferential direction ofthe circular portion 200 r is set to zero, and the respectivecoordinates of the detection regions R from the lower end to the upperend of the touch sensor 21 in the circumferential direction aresequentially set to 1, 2, . . . , 30 and 31. The respective coordinatesof the touch sensor 21 in the circumferential direction of the circularportion 200 r is defined as a Y-coordinate.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view in the radial direction of the circularportion 200 r at a position where the touch sensor 21 is mounted.

As shown in FIG. 7, one of the coordinates of the detection regions R,for example, on the inner diameter side in the cross section of thecircular portion 200 r is set to zero. The respective coordinates of thedetection regions R in the circumferential direction in the crosssection of the circular portion 200 r are sequentially set to 1, 2, . .. , 21 and 22 in a counterclockwise direction in FIG. 7 from the innerdiameter side to the front side, from the front side to the outerdiameter side, from the outer diameter side to the rear side, and fromthe rear side to the inner diameter side. The respective coordinates ofthe touch sensor 21 in the circumferential direction in the crosssection is defined as an X-coordinate.

The sensor data generator 22 can obtain positional data showing whichpart in the touch sensor 21 the driver touches based on the detectionregions R on the X-coordinate and the Y-coordinate from which contactdetection signals are obtained.

FIG. 8 shows a state where the touch sensor 21 shown in FIG. 6 isdeveloped. FIG. 9 schematically shows a state where each region in thetouch sensor 21 shown in FIG. 8 is converted into a uniform size.

FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 each show index finger contact detection portions Tiwhich are plural detection regions R in contact with the index finger,in addition to the palm contact detection portions Tp and the thumbcontact detection portions Tt. Here, when the second finger, the thirdfinger or the fourth finger comes into contact with the touch sensor 21,the touch sensor 21 also detects the contact of the respective fingers.

Note that, in the present embodiment, the thumb or the index finger isused as a finger suitable for a particular input operation performed onthe touch sensor 21 by the driver.

The input operation performed with the thumb or the index finger will beexplained in detail below. The detector 10 a of the controller 10detects the input operation performed on the touch sensor 21 with thethumb or the index finger based on the sensor data output from thesensor data generator 22.

The detector 10 a also detects the circular portion 200 r (the touchsensor 21) being held based on the sensor data output from the sensordata generator 22. The controller 10 controls an operation target deviceaccording to the particular input operation performed on the touchsensor 21.

An example of the operation target device is the onboard equipment 100.In particular, in accordance with the particular input operation, thecontroller 10 can control the navigation processing unit 11 to carry outroute guiding or control the audio reproduction unit 12 toreproduce/stop audio signals or advance/reverse reproducing tracks(compositions).

Further, in accordance with the particular input operation, thecontroller 10 can control the TV tuner 13 to change receiving channelsand control the amplifier of the audio signal processing unit 16 to turnthe volume up or down.

Another example of the operation target device is a vehicle actioncontrol device that controls actions of the vehicle. In particular, thecontroller 10 may control a transmission, a direction indicator, anON/OFF state of an air conditioner, or temperature setting of the airconditioner via the in-vehicle communication unit 34.

When the operation target device is the vehicle action control device,the sensor data output from the sensor data generator 22 is preferablyinput into a control unit installed in the vehicle so as to control thevehicle action control device. The control unit that controls theoperation target device may be the controller 10 in the onboardequipment 100 or may be an external control unit located outside theonboard equipment 100 installed in the vehicle.

According to the present embodiment, since the driver operates theoperation target device with the quite thin touch sensor 21 mounted onthe circular portion 200 r that the driver holds, the driver can operatethe operation target device without removing or widely sliding the handsfrom the circular portion 200 r.

Further, there is almost no possibility that the touch sensor 21 is anobstacle to operation of the steering wheel 200 performed by the driversince the surface of the touch sensor 21 does not haverecesses/projections.

Here, the operation target device is required to be prevented from beingunnecessarily operated by the driver when the driver has no intention ofoperating the operation target device such as during normal driving withthe circular portion 200 r held with the hands. According to the presentembodiment, the following are measures to prevent unintended incorrectoperation by the driver.

As shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, a grip detection area Arg for detectingcontact of the palm, an operation detection area Arv for detecting anoperation input performed with the thumb or the index finger as aneffective operation input, and an operation invalid area Ariv where anoperation input is invalid located between the grip detection area Argand the operation detection area Arv, are arranged in the pluraldetection regions R on the touch sensor 21.

The palm contact detection portions Tp are located in the grip detectionarea Arg, and the thumb contact detection portions Tt and the indexfinger contact detection portions Ti are located in the operationdetection area Arv.

Although the operation invalid area Ariv also includes the detectionregions R that detect contact of the palm or fingers as in the case ofthe grip detection area Arg and the operation detection area Arv, theoperation invalid area Ariv may be used in a manner such that thecontroller 10 (the detector 10 a) or the sensor data generator 22processes an input operation from the operation invalid area Ariv to beinvalid.

Alternatively, the touch sensor 21 may be configured in a manner suchthat no detection region R is present in the operation invalid areaAriv. Such a case is substantially equivalent to the example shown inFIG. 4.

When the driver is gripping the circular portion 200 r during normaldriving, the palm contact detection portions Tp are located relativelyclose to the thumb contact detection portions Tt and the index fingercontact detection portions Ti. Thus, according to the presentembodiment, the operation invalid area Ariv is provided so as toaccurately distinguish a case where the driver is merely gripping thecircular portion 200 r from a case where the driver touches the touchsensor 21 intentionally to operate the operation target device.

When the driver intends to operate the operation target device, thedriver touches the touch sensor 21 by intentionally stretching the thumbor the index finger to perform a particular input operation describedbelow. When the particular input operation described below is performedin the operation detection area Arv, the controller 10 controls theoperation target device according to the input operation.

In addition, incorrect operation performed on the operation targetdevice should be prevented if the driver unintentionally touches theoperation detection area Arv and the driver is not gripping the circularportion 200 r for normal driving. Therefore, according to the presentembodiment, the detector 10 a determines that the driver is gripping thecircular portion 200 r when a predetermined area or greater of the palmcontact detection portions Tp is detected in the grip detection areaArg.

The controller 10 is configured to control the operation target devicewhen the driver is gripping the circular portion 200 r and at the sametime a particular operation is performed in the operation detection areaArv. The detected area of the palm contact detection portions Tpnecessary to determine that the driver is gripping the circular portion200 r may be determined as appropriate based on statisticalinvestigation of areas obtained in a manner such that several driversgrip the steering wheel 200 in a normal gripping manner.

The area of the palm contact detection portions Tp in the grip detectionarea Arg is merely an example of a condition for determining that thedriver is gripping the circular portion 200 r, and the condition fordetermination is not limited thereto.

FIG. 10 shows a cross section of the circular portion 200 r cut in thegrip detection area Arg of the touch sensor 21. The detector 10 a maydetermine that the driver is gripping the circular portion 200 r whenthe angle θ in the palm contact detection portions Tp in thecircumferential direction in the cross section is a predetermined angleor greater. The predetermine angle is, for example, 180°.

As explained above, according to the present embodiment, since thecontroller 10 determines whether the driver is gripping the circularportion 200 r (the touch sensor 21) and accepts the operation input tothe touch sensor 21 only when the driver is gripping the circularportion 200 r, incorrect operation in a case where the driverunintentionally touches the operation detection area Arv can be avoided.

As a preferred constitution of the present embodiment, the operationdetection area Arv is located at a predetermined distance from the gripdetection area Arg. Therefore, the particular input operation performedon the touch sensor 21 intentionally by the driver can be accuratelydetected. Accordingly, a possibility of occurrence of incorrectoperation can greatly be decreased.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the area of the palmcontact detection portions Tp and the angle θ in the circumferentialdirection of the palm contact detection portions Tp in the gripdetection area Arg, are used as the conditions for accuratelydetermining whether the driver is gripping the circular portion 200 r.Accordingly, incorrect operation can be prevented even if the driverunintentionally touches the operation detection area Arv when the driveris not gripping the circular portion 200 r.

The controller 10 turns on the display element 17 to inform the driverthat the operation input is available in the operation detection areaArv when the detector 10 a detects the driver gripping the circularportion 200 r (the touch sensor 21) according to the sensor data basedon the contact detection signal from the grip detection area Arg.

The driver can determine whether the operation target device can beoperated by use of the touch sensor 21 according to the ON/OFF state ofthe display element 17. The display element 17 may be located adjacentto the steering wheel.

Here, when the touch sensor 21 is mounted on the entire circumference ofthe circular portion 200 r as shown in FIG. 3A or when the touch sensor21 is mounted on a relatively wide range as shown in FIG. 3E, a positionon the touch sensor 21 that the driver holds is not particularlylimited.

Therefore, the positions of the grip detection area Arg and theoperation detection area Arv as described with reference to FIG. 8 andFIG. 9 and the operation invalid area Ariv provided as necessary, arerequired to be dynamically determined depending on the position on thetouch sensor 21 that the driver holds.

Thus, the controller 10 determines a region including the palm contactdetection portions Tp as the grip detection area Arg when the touchsensor 21 is gripped in a state where the grip detection area Arg andother areas have not been set. A predetermined range on the Y-coordinateincluding the palm contact detection portions Tp may be determined asthe grip detection area Arg.

As described above, when the detector 10 a detects a predetermined areaor greater of the plural detection regions R in the touch sensor 21being touched by the driver, the detected area is determined as the palmcontact detection portions Tp since the palm contact detection portionsTp have a predetermined area or greater. Alternatively, as explainedwith reference to FIG. 10, when the detector 10 a detects apredetermined angle range or greater in the touch sensor 21 in thecircumferential direction in the cross section of the circular portion200 r being touched by the driver, the detected range is determined asthe palm contact detection portions Tp.

After setting the grip detection area Arg, the controller 10 sets apredetermined range on the Y-coordinate located above the grip detectionarea Arg as the operation detection area Arv. In such a case, apredetermined range on the Y-coordinate adjacent to the grip detectionarea Arg is set as the operation invalid area Ariv as necessary so thatthe operation detection area Arv is located in a manner as to beseparated from the grip detection area Arg.

Next, examples of the particular input operation performed on the touchsensor 21 by the driver with the thumb or the index finger will beexplained with reference to FIG. 11A to FIG. 11E, FIG. 12A to FIG. 12D,and FIG. 13A to FIG. 13D.

FIG. 11A to FIG. 11E are schematic plan views each showing a half of thetouch sensor 21 on either the front side facing the driver or the rearside. The operations shown in FIG. 11A to FIG. 11E are performed withthe thumb on the front side and performed with the index finger on therear side.

In FIG. 11A, D_(R) represents right dragging to slide the thumb or theindex finger in the right direction on the touch sensor 21 (on theoperation detection area Arv), and D_(L) represents left dragging toslide the thumb or the index finger in the left direction. D_(U)represents upward dragging to slide the thumb or the index fingerupward, and D_(D) represents downward dragging to slide the thumb or theindex finger downward.

In FIG. 11A, a flick to flick the touch sensor 21 in each direction withthe thumb or the index finger may be performed in place of the rightdragging D_(R), the left dragging D_(L), the upper dragging D_(U) andthe lower dragging D_(D).

FIG. 11B shows tapping T to tap the touch sensor 21 with the thumb orthe index finger. FIG. 11C shows arc dragging D_(C) to draw an arc onthe touch sensor 21 with the thumb or the index finger.

FIG. 11D shows zigzag dragging D_(Z) to drag on the touch sensor in azigzag manner 21 with the thumb or the index finger. FIG. 11E showssymbol input dragging D_(S) to draw a symbol with the thumb or the indexfinger. FIG. 11E shows a state where the number “3” is drawn as asymbol. As for symbols, the numbers or alphabets that are relativelyeasily recognized are preferably used.

FIG. 12A to FIG. 12D are schematic plan views each showing a front part21 f which is a half of the touch sensor 21 on the front side and a rearpart 21 r which is a half of the touch sensor 21 on the rear side whenthe touch sensor is developed. The front part 21 f corresponds to thearea from 1 to 11 on the X-coordinate and the rear part 21 r correspondsto the area from 12 to 22 on the X-coordinate shown in FIG. 8 and FIG.9.

FIG. 12A to FIG. 12D each show the front part 21 f and the rear part 21r in a manner as to have the same area, although the front part 21 f andthe rear part 21 r do not actually have the same area shown in theexamples of FIG. 8 and FIG. 9. For reasons of convenience, FIG. 12A toFIG. 12D each show the rear part 21 r not as viewed from the rear sideof the circular portion 200 r but as viewed from the front side throughthe front part 21 f.

As shown in FIG. 12A to FIG. 12D, each combination pattern of the inputoperation performed on the front part 21 f with the thumb and the inputoperation performed on the rear part 21 r with the index finger may beused as the particular input operation performed on the touch sensor 21.

FIG. 12A is an example of performing right dragging D_(TR) to slide thethumb in the right direction on the front part 21 f and right draggingD_(IR) to slide the index finger in the right direction on the rear part21 r. The dragging of FIG. 12A is performed with both the thumb and theindex finger from the inner circumferential side to the outercircumferential side of the circular portion 200 r. The dragging withboth the thumb and the index finger in the opposite direction of FIG.12A is also applicable.

FIG. 12B is an example of performing left dragging D_(TL) to slide thethumb in the left direction on the front part 21 f and right draggingD_(IR) to slide the index finger in the right direction on the rear part21 r. The dragging of FIG. 12B is performed with the thumb from theouter circumferential side to the inner circumferential side of thecircular portion 200 r and with the index finger from the innercircumferential side to the outer circumferential side of the circularportion 200 r.

FIG. 12C is an example of performing right dragging D_(TR) to slide thethumb in the right direction on the front part 21 f and left draggingD_(IL) to slide the index finger in the left direction on the rear part21 r. The dragging of FIG. 12C is performed with the thumb from theinner circumferential side to the outer circumferential side of thecircular portion 200 r and with the index finger from the outercircumferential side to the inner circumferential side of the circularportion 200 r.

FIG. 12D is an example of performing upward dragging D_(TU) to slide thethumb in the upward direction on the front part 21 f and downwarddragging D_(ID) to slide the index finger in the downward direction onthe rear part 21 r. A pattern of the dragging with the thumb in thedownward direction and with the index finger in the upward direction, ora pattern of the dragging with both the thumb and the index finger inthe upward direction or in the downward direction, is also applicable.

Although the present embodiment exemplified the several combinationpatterns of the input operation on the front portion 21 f with the thumband the input operation on the rear part 21 r with the index finger, thepresent embodiment is not limited thereto, and the input operationpattern may be selected as appropriate in consideration of ease of theinput operation.

The possibility of occurrence of incorrect operation can be furtherdecreased in a manner such that each combination pattern of the inputoperation with the thumb and the input operation with the index fingeras shown in FIG. 12A to FIG. 12D is used as the particular inputoperation for controlling the operation target device.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3A, FIG. 3B, FIG. 3D, FIG. 3E, FIG. 4 and FIG.5, in the case where the touch sensors 21 (21 a, 21 b) can be operatedwith both right and left hands, each combination pattern of theoperations with the right and left hands may also be used as theparticular input operation for controlling the operation target device.

FIG. 13A to FIG. 13D are examples showing several combination patternsof the input operations with the right and left hands in a case wherethe left touch sensor 21 in FIG. 3B is defined as a left touch sensor21L and the right touch sensor 21 in FIG. 3B is defined as a right touchsensor 21R. These figures are schematic plan views each corresponding tothe front part 21 f of FIG. 12A to FIG. 12D operated with the thumb.

FIG. 13A is a combination pattern of left dragging D_(TL) to slide thethumb in the left direction on the left touch sensor 21L and rightdragging D_(TR) to slide the thumb in the right direction on the righttouch sensor 21R.

FIG. 13B is a combination pattern of right dragging D_(TR) to slide thethumb in the right direction on the left touch sensor 21L and leftdragging D_(TL) to slide the thumb in the left direction on the righttouch sensor 21R.

FIG. 13C is a pattern of upward dragging D_(TU) to slide the thumbs inthe upward direction on both the left touch sensor 21L and the righttouch sensor 21R.

FIG. 13D is a pattern of downward dragging D_(TD) to slide the thumbs inthe downward direction on both the left touch sensor 21L and the righttouch sensor 21R.

The use of each combination pattern of the input operations with bothright and left hands as the particular input operation for controllingthe operation target device, can contribute to safety driving since thedriver grips the circular portion 200 r with both hands. Particularly,the example of FIG. 3B can contribute to safety driving since the touchsensors 21 are mounted on the most preferable gripped positions for bothhands in the circular portion 200 r.

The input operation may be accepted when the right and left touchsensors 21 are held with both hands. The input operation may not beaccepted when one hand is removed from the touch sensor 21.Alternatively, the touch sensor 21 may be on standby for acceptance ofthe input operation when one hand is removed from the touch sensor 21.

The particular input operation performed only with one hand alsocontributes to safety driving as long as the input operation is acceptedwhen the right and left touch sensors 21 are held with both hands.

When the driver has no intention of operating the operation targetdevice while gripping the circular portion 200 r during normal driving,there is a relatively low possibility of unexpected occurrence of thespecific combination pattern of the input operation with the thumb andthe input operation with the index finger or the specific combinationpattern of the input operations with the right and left hands.

Thus, if using only the specific combination pattern of the inputoperation with the thumb and the input operation with the index fingeror the specific combination pattern of the input operations with theright and left hands, part of or all of the measures to preventincorrect operation described above may be omitted.

Even if, of course, using only the specific combination pattern of theinput operations with the right and left hands, the measures to preventincorrect operation may also be used.

The storage unit 18 stores a table relating the particular inputoperation or each combination pattern of the particular input operationsdescribed above to a type of control performed on the operation targetdevice.

The controller 10 controls the operation target device according to thetable stored in the storage unit 18 depending on the operation input tothe touch sensor 21. The storage unit 18 may be located in thecontroller 10.

With reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 14, processing executed bythe controller 10 in the present embodiment is explained in more detailbelow. In FIG. 14, the controller 10 obtains the sensor data output fromthe sensor data generator 22 in step S1. The controller 10 determineswhether the circular portion 200 r is gripped based on the detectionoutput from the detector 10 a in step S2.

When the controller determines that the circular portion 200 r isgripped (YES), the controller 10 proceeds to step S3. When thecontroller determines that the circular portion 200 r is not gripped(NO), the controller 10 returns to step S1.

The controller 10 determines whether the input operation is performedbased on the detection output from the detector 10 a in step S3. Whenthe controller 10 determines that the input operation is performed(YES), the controller 10 proceeds to step S4. When the controller 10determines that the input operation is not performed (NO), thecontroller 10 returns to step S1.

The controller 10 determines whether to allow the operation performed onthe operation target device according to the input operation in step S4.When the controller 10 determines to allow the operation (YES), thecontroller 10 proceeds to step S5. When the operation is not allowable(NO), the controller 10 returns to step S1.

As explained above, the controller 10 allows the operation performed onthe operation target device when the particular input operation isperformed in the operation detection area Arv, and does not allow theoperation performed on the operation target device when the particularinput operation is performed in the operation invalid area Ariv.

Even when the input operation is performed in the operation detectionarea Arv, the controller 10 does not allow the operation performed onthe operation target device if the performed input operation is not theparticular input operation. The controller 10 allows the operationperformed on the operation target device only when the particular inputoperation is performed.

The controller 10 fixes the operation based on the input operation instep S5, controls the operation target device according to the fixedoperation in step S6, and returns to step S1.

The operations according to the present embodiment are summarized asfollows.

The detector 10 a (first detector) detects a state where a first area istouched in the touch sensor 21 mounted on the grip portion (the circularportion 200 r or the straight portion 201 s) gripped by the driver onthe steering wheel 200 or 201. An example of the first area is the gripdetection area Arg. The detector 10 a (second detector) detects a statewhere the particular input operation is performed in a second arealocated on the upper side of the first area in the touch sensor 21 whilethe first area is touched. An example of the second area is theoperation detection area Arv.

Since the thumb or the index finger is located above the palm duringdriving, the area located on the upper side of the first area may bedefined as the second area. When the particular input operation isperformed while the first area is touched, the operation target deviceto be operated with the touch sensor 21 is controlled according to theparticular input operation.

The area located on the upper side is an area above the first areadefined in a state where the driver is gripping the grip portion and thesteering wheel 200 is not turned. It is preferable to determine that thefirst area is touched when a predetermined area or greater of the firstarea is touched.

Another aspect is as follows.

The detector 10 a (first detector) detects a state where a predeterminedangle range or greater in the circumferential direction in the crosssection of the grip portion when the steering wheel 200 or 201 is cut inthe radial direction, is touched in the first area on the touch sensor21 mounted to cover a predetermined area of the grip portion (thecircular portion 200 r or the straight portion 201 s) gripped by thedriver on the steering wheel 200 or 201.

The detector 10 a (second detector) detects the particular inputoperation being performed in the second area separate from the firstarea in the touch sensor 21 while a predetermine angle range or greaterof the first area is touched. When a predetermined angle range orgreater of the first area is touched and the particular input operationis performed, the operation target device to be operated with the touchsensor 21 is controlled according to the particular input operation.

The second area is preferably an area located on the upper side of thefirst area. The area located on the upper side is an area above thefirst area defined in a state where the driver is gripping the gripportion and the steering wheel 200 is not turned.

FIG. 15 and FIG. 16 are constitution examples for effectively informingthe driver that the touch sensor 21 has been operated. FIG. 15 and FIG.16 are schematic views in which the touch sensor 21 is developed andconverted into a rectangular shape, as in the case of FIG. 9.

FIG. 15 is an example in which a color change sheet 41 containing acoloring substance is placed on the lower surface of the touch sensor21. When a transparent conductive film is used in the touch sensor 21,the driver can recognize, though the touch sensor 21, the color of thecolor change sheet 41 placed on the lower surface of the touch sensor21.

The controller 10 changes the color of part of the color change sheet 41corresponding to the part where the touch sensor 21 is touched so thatthe driver can confirm the operation performed on the touch sensor 21.

FIG. 16 is an example in which a tactile feedback sheet 42 to change asense of touch (a texture) is placed on the upper surface of the touchsensor 21. An example of the tactile feedback sheet 42 may be a sheetcalled “E-sheet” developed by Senseg in Finland.

This sheet is used to obtain feedback of a sense of touch byelectrifying a film. Even if the tactile feedback sheet 42 is placed onthe upper surface of the touch sensor 21, the touch sensor 21 can detectthe contact of the fingers.

When the driver operates the touch sensor 21 via the tactile feedbacksheet 42, the controller 10 changes a sense of touch of the tactilefeedback sheet 42 so that the driver can confirm the operation performedon the touch sensor 21.

Next, a steering wheel according to at least one embodiment is explainedwith reference to FIG. 17. A steering wheel 210 according to at leastone embodiment shown in FIG. 17 is configured to output a control signalto the operation target device.

The elements in FIG. 17 which are the same as those in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2are indicated by the same reference numerals, and overlappingexplanations thereof are not repeated. As shown in FIG. 17, the steeringwheel 210 includes a sensor data generator 23 identical to the sensordata generator 22 of FIG. 1 and a controller 24 identical to thecontroller 10 located, for example, in an area other than the circularportion 200 r. The controller 24 includes a detector 24 a identical tothe detector 10 a and a control signal production unit 24 b.

In a state where the steering wheel 210 is installed in the vehicle, thecontrol signal production unit 24 b produces a control signal forcontrolling the operation target device according to the particularinput operation performed on the touch sensor 21.

The control signal output from the control signal production unit 24 bis further output to an output terminal 26 via a cable 25. The operationtarget device to which the output terminal is connected can becontrolled by use of the control signal. Examples of the particularinput operation are the same as those shown in FIG. 11A to FIG. 11E,FIG. 12A to FIG. 12D and FIG. 13A to FIG. 13D. Conditions for producingthe control signal by the control signal production unit 24 b are alsothe same as those described above.

The touch sensor 21 may be detachably mounted on the circular portion200 r by use of a hook-and-loop fastener. Although the circular portion200 r serves as the grip portion, the grip portion is not necessarilyformed into a circular shape.

The touch sensor 21 is not required to be composed of a single sheet andmay be composed of plural touch sensor pieces. The touch sensor 21composed of the plural touch sensor pieces has the advantage of themanufacture process since each piece can be formed into a simple shape.

When the touch sensor 21 is composed of the plural touch sensor pieces,the touch sensor pieces are not required to exclude the presence of gapstherebetween when arranged.

The touch sensor 21 according to the present embodiment is mounted tocover the grip portion. It should be noted that the state of beingmounted to cover the grip portion in the present embodiment includes acase where the touch sensor 21 composed of the plural touch sensorpieces is mounted to cover the grip portion while gaps are presentbetween the touch sensor pieces.

In addition, the covering range of the touch panel 21 is not limited tothe grip portion (the circular portion 200 r or the straight portion 201s) gripped by the driver during driving and may be extended to thesurface of the connecting portion between the circular portion 200 r andthe center portion in which an air bag or the like is housed.

The connecting portion is a portion located between the right and lefthands in FIG. 2, and a portion where the sensor data generator 23 andthe controller 24 are located in FIG. 17.

As described above, the touch sensor 21 may be extended to the surfaceof the connecting portion so as to arrange the operation detection areaArvin the connecting portion closer to the grip portion. The touchsensor 21 located in the region closer to the grip portion allows thedriver to operate the operation target device without removing or widelysliding the hands from the grip portion during driving.

Accordingly, there is almost no possibility that the touch sensor 21 isan obstacle to operation of the steering wheel 200, 201 or 210 by thedriver even if the touch sensor 21 is extended to the surface of theconnecting portion.

Second Embodiment

A control apparatus and method for controlling an operation targetdevice in a vehicle according to a second embodiment will be explainedbelow. Fundamental constitutions and operations in the second embodimentare the same as those in the first embodiment, and only differentelements will be explained below.

In step S4 described above, it is preferable not to allow the operationfor controlling the operation target device (namely, to disable theoperation) when the vehicle is in a particular condition. A turningangle of the steering wheel 200 is set in the controller 10 to determinewhether to allow the operation for controlling the operation targetdevice.

As shown in FIG. 18, when the steering wheel 200 is not turned, theturning angle is 0°. For example, the turning angle is conceived to bein a plus range when turned in a right direction, and the turning angleis conceived to be in a minus range when turned in a left direction. Theinput operation performed on the touch sensor 21 is valid and allowedwhen the turning angle is within a range of, for example, plus or minus30°, and the input operation performed on the touch sensor 21 is invalidand not allowed when the turning angle exceeds the range of plus orminus 30°.

When the turning angle exceeds the range of plus or minus 30°, thevehicle is turning right or left or turning at a corner. If theoperation target device is controlled in such a particular condition, apossibility of occurrence of incorrect operation greatly increases. Inother words, the operation input performed in such a particularcondition is more likely to be an input unintentionally made by theuser, which is not preferable in view of a safety aspect.

According to the present embodiment, the particular condition of thevehicle disables the operation for controlling the operation targetdevice.

As described above, the turning angle of the steering wheel 200 detectedby the steering angle sensor 31 is input into the controller 10. Thecontroller 10 switches the input operation performed on the touch sensor21 between a valid state and an invalid state according to the turningangle of the steering wheel 200 detected by the steering angle sensor31.

A detection signal from the direction indicator sensor 32 is also inputinto the controller 10. Therefore, the controller 10 may disable theinput operation performed on the touch sensor 21 when the directionindicator 320 is operated according to the detection signal from thedirection indicator sensor 32.

When the direction indicator 320 is operated, the steering wheel 200 canbe conceived to be in the particular condition where the steering wheel200 is being turned and the turning angle thereof is exceeding apredetermined range. Note that, although the direction indicator 320 mayperform other operations in addition to the indication of a right/leftturn, the operation of the direction indicator 320 in the presentembodiment is to indicate the right/left turn.

It is not preferred to control the operation target device by performingthe particular input operation on the touch sensor 21 during reversingthe vehicle. This is because a possibility of occurrence of incorrectoperation greatly increases, which is not preferable in view of a safetyaspect.

Therefore, the controller 10 may also disable the input operationperformed on the touch sensor 21 according to a detection signal fromthe shift lever sensor 33 when the shift lever 330 is located in areversing position.

When the turning angle of the steering wheel 200 exceeds a predeterminedrange, for example, the range of plus or minus 30° or when the directionindicator 320 is operated, or when the shift lever 330 is located in thereversing position, the operation for controlling the operation targetdevice may be invalid.

Here, disabling the operation for controlling the operation targetdevice may include a state where the operation for controlling theoperation target device is invalid even if the particular inputoperation is performed, or a state where the controller 10 disablesinput from the sensor data generator 22 even if some sensor data isinput into the controller 10. It is only required to disable theoperation for controlling the operation target device consequently.

A specific processing example of step S4 shown in FIG. 14 is explainedbelow with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 19. As shown in FIG.19, the controller 10 determines whether the shift lever 330 is locatedin the reversing position in step S41.

When the shift lever 330 is located in the reversing position (YES), thecontroller 10 does not allow the input operation of step S3 in step S45and moves to step S1 in FIG. 14. When the shift lever 330 is not locatedin the reversing position (NO), the controller 10 determines whether thedirection indicator 320 is operated in step S42.

When the direction indicator 320 is operated (YES), the controller 10does not allow the input operation of step S3 in step S45 and moves tostep S1 in FIG. 14.

When the direction indicator 320 is not operated (NO), the controller 10determines whether the turning angle of the steering wheel 200 exceeds apredetermined range in step S43.

When the turning angle of the steering wheel 200 exceeds a predeterminedrange (YES), the controller 10 does not allow the input operation ofstep S3 in step S45 and moves to step S1 in FIG. 14.

When the turning angle of the steering wheel 200 does not exceed apredetermined range (NO), the controller 10 determines whether theparticular input operation is performed in the operation detection areaArv in step S44.

When no particular input operation is performed (NO), the controller 10does not allow the input operation of step S3 in step S45 and moves tostep S1 in FIG. 14. When the controller 10 does not allow the inputoperation in step S45, the operation for controlling the operationtarget device is invalid.

When the particular input operation is performed (YES), the controller10 allows the input operation of step S3 in step S46 and moves to stepS5 in FIG. 14.

Although the three steps of step S41, step S42 and step S43 are carriedout in the example shown in FIG. 19, only one or two steps may becarried out. Note that, when the two of or all of step S41, step S42 andstep S43 are carried out, the order of the steps is not particularlylimited.

Although the present embodiment employs the shift lever 330, theconfiguration of the operation unit to switch the vehicle between goingforward and going backward and to change gear ratios of thetransmission, is not particularly limited and may be any of a floorshift, a steering column and a paddle shift. All of them are included inthe shift lever.

As explained above, the operation for controlling the operation targetdevice is invalid when the vehicle is in the particular state such as aright turn, a left turn, a turn at a corner and a reverse movement, sothat the input operation is not performed on the touch sensor 21 duringthe particular state, which contributes to an increase in safety.

Third Embodiment

A control apparatus and method for controlling an operation targetdevice in a vehicle according to a third embodiment will be explainedbelow. Fundamental constitutions and operations in the third embodimentare the same as those in the first embodiment, and only differentelements will be explained below.

In the third embodiment, the input operation performed on the touchsensor 21 with a finger is not accepted when the driver has no intentionof operating the operation target device such as during normal drivingwith the circular portion 200 r gripped with the hands, but the inputoperation performed on the touch sensor 21 with a finger is acceptedonly when the driver intends to operate the operation target device.

When the driver intends to operate the particular input operation on thetouch sensor 21 with the thumb or the index finger, the driver mayintentionally or unconsciously change the manner of gripping thecircular portion 200 r (the touch sensor 21) so as to easily move thethumb or the index finger.

FIG. 20 shows an example of a contact state in the palm contactdetection portions Tp and the thumb contact detection portions Tt whenthe driver grips the circular portion 200 r during normal driving. FIG.20 is a schematic view in which each region in the touch sensor 21 isconverted into a uniform size, as in the case of FIG. 9.

As shown in FIG. 20, the palm contact detection portions Tp have arelatively wide area, and the thumb contact detection portions Tt arelocated adjacent to the palm contact detection portions Tp. The indexfinger contact portions Ti are also located adjacent to the palm contactdetection portions Tp although not shown in FIG. 20.

FIG. 21 shows an example of a contact state in the palm contactdetection portions Tp and the thumb contact detection portions Tt whenthe driver intends to operate the operation target device.

As shown in FIG. 21, the area of the palm contact detection portions Tpdecreases compared with that in FIG. 20, and the thumb contact detectionportions Tt are located away from the palm contact detection portionsTp. The index finger contact portions Ti are also located away from thepalm contact detection portions Tp although not shown in FIG. 21.

As is apparent from the comparison of FIG. 20 with FIG. 21, the area ofthe palm contact detection portions Tp greatly changes between the casewhere the driver is merely gripping the circular portion 200 r duringnormal driving and the case where the driver intends to operate theoperation target device by performing the particular input operation onthe touch sensor 21 with the thumb or the index finger.

Note that the palm contact detection portions Tp may include portionswith which the second finger, the third finger and the fourth finger(and also the index finger according to circumstances) come intocontact.

The number 8 on the X-coordinate and the numbers 4 to 8 on theY-coordinate in the palm contact detection portions Tp in FIG. 20 areportions with which tips of the second finger, the third finger and thefourth finger are in contact. In FIG. 21, however, the portions withwhich the tips of the second finger, the third finger and the fourthfinger are in contact move to the number 5 on the X-coordinate and thenumbers 4 to 8 on the Y-coordinate. This represents that the positionsof the tips of the second finger, the third finger and the fourth fingershift to the rear side of the circular portion 200 r.

The intention of operating the operation target device may be determinedbased on a positional change of end portions of the palm contactdetection portions Tp in the circumferential direction in the crosssection of the circular portion 200 r.

Further, the intention of operating the operation target device may bedetermined based on a positional change of end portions of the palmcontact detection portions Tp in the circumferential direction in thecross section of the circular portion 200 r, in addition to the areachange of the palm contact detection portions Tp.

The controller 10 determines that the driver is gripping the circularportion 200 r for normal driving when the palm contact detectionportions Tp have a first area that is a predetermined area or greater asshown in FIG. 20, so as not to accept the input operation performed onthe touch sensor 21 with the finger.

The controller 10 determines that the driver intends to operate theoperation target device when the palm contact detection portions Tp havea second area, as shown in FIG. 21, which is decreased by apredetermined ratio or greater compared with the area in FIG. 20, so asto accept the input operation performed on the touch sensor 21 with thefinger.

In the constitution example of discriminating between the state ofnormal driving and the state of intending to operate the operationtarget device according to the area change of the palm contact detectionportions Tp, the operation invalid area Ariv is not necessarilyprovided.

FIG. 22 shows a state, omitting the operation invalid area Ariv, wherethe grip detection area Arg and the operation detection area Arv arepreliminarily arranged in the touch sensor 21 or where the controller 10arranges the grip detection area Arg and the operation detection areaArv in the touch sensor 21.

FIG. 22 shows a state where the driver is gripping the circular portion200 r for normal driving, as in the case of FIG. 20. The controller 10can discriminate between the above-described two states so as to preventincorrect operation even though the operation invalid area Ariv is notprovided as shown in FIG. 22.

Alternatively, the area of the palm contact detection portions Tp shownin FIG. 20 and the area of the palm contact detection portions Tp shownin FIG. 21 may be preliminarily registered in the controller 10 or inthe storage unit 18 so as to switch between the state where the inputoperation performed on the touch sensor 21 is accepted and the statewhere the input operation performed on the touch sensor 21 is notaccepted. Since the area of the palm contact detection portions is, ofcourse, not always constant, an allowable margin of difference of thearea is set in advance.

A change in shape of the palm contact detection portions Tp may bedetected instead of the area change or in addition to the area change ofthe palm contact detection portions Tp.

Further, a change of the angle θ in the circumferential direction in thecross section of the palm contact detection portions P shown in FIG. 10or a change of the maximum length of the palm contact detection portionsTp in the X-coordinate direction may be detected.

The state where the input operation is not accepted may be a state wherethe operation for controlling the operation target device is notaccepted even if the particular input operation is performed, or may bea state where the controller 10 disables input from the sensor datagenerator 22 even if some sensor data is input into the controller 10.It is only required to disable the operation for controlling theoperation target device consequently.

Fourth Embodiment

A control apparatus and method for controlling an operation targetdevice in a vehicle according to a fourth embodiment will be explainedbelow. Fundamental constitutions and operations in the fourth embodimentare the same as those in the first embodiment, and only differentelements will be explained below.

A constitution example of accurately distinguishing the case where thedriver is merely gripping the circular portion 200 r from the case wherethe driver touches the touch sensor 21 to operate the operation targetdevice according to the fourth embodiment is explained below withreference to FIG. 23.

FIG. 23 shows a state where the touch sensor 21 is developed in the samemanner as FIG. 8. The operation invalid area Ariv is omitted in theconstitution example shown in FIG. 23. When the driver is merelygripping the circular portion 200 r, the thumb contact detectionportions Tt and the index finger contact detection portions Ti areconceived to be located relatively close to the palm contact detectionportions Tp.

The thumb contact detection portions Tt and the index finger contactdetection portions Ti are defined as Tt0 and Ti0, respectively, in thecase where the driver has no intention of operating the operation targetdevice and the driver is merely gripping the circular portion.

FIG. 23 shows a case where the thumb contact detection portions Tt0 andthe index finger contact detection portions Ti0 are detected when thedriver is merely gripping the circular portion 200 r and has nointention of operating the operation target device, and a case where thethumb contact detection portions Tt0 and the index finger contactdetection portions Ti0 move to the thumb contact detection portions Ttand the index finger contact detection portions Ti located away from thepalm contact detection portions Tp when the driver intends to operatethe operation target device.

Although FIG. 23 shows the case where the thumb contact detectionportions Tt0 and the thumb contact detection portions Tt have the sameX-coordinate and where the index finger contact detection portions Ti0and the index finger contact detection portions Ti have the sameX-coordinate, the respective X-coordinates are not necessarily the same.In such a case, it is only required to focus only on the movement on theY-coordinate.

The controller 10 stores, as a reference distance, a distance α1 betweenthe end of the palm contact detection portions Tp towards the thumbcontact detection portions Tt0 and the end of the thumb contactdetection portions Tt0 towards the palm contact detection portions Tp inthe state where the driver is gripping the circular portion 200 r fornormal driving. The controller 10 may serve as a storage unit to storethe reference distance α1, or the storage unit 18 may store thereference distance α1.

The distance between the end of the palm contact detection portions Tptowards the thumb contact detection portions Tt and the end of the thumbcontact detection portions Tt towards the palm contact detectionportions Tp in the state where the driver intends to operate theoperation target device, is, for example, a distance α2 which is longerthan the distance α1.

The controller 10 determines that the driver intends to operate theoperation target device when the controller 10 detects the thumb contactdetection portions Tt having a predetermined distance, longer than thereference distance α1, from the end of the palm contact detectionportions Tp towards the thumb contact detection portions Tt0. Thecontroller 10 accepts the input operation performed with the thumb inthis state as a valid operation detected in the thumb contact detectionportions Tt.

Although FIG. 23 shows only the distances α1 and α2 between the palmcontact detection portions Tp and the thumb contact detection portionsTt0 and Tt, a distance between the palm contact detection portions Tpand the index finger detection portions Ti0 may be stored in a similarmanner to the distances α1 and α2 so as to detect the index fingerdetection portions Ti when the driver intends to operate the operationtarget device.

Namely, in the state where the driver is gripping the circular portion200 r but does not perform the input operation, the reference distancebetween the palm contact detection portions Tp in which the palm of thedriver is in contact with the touch sensor 21 and the finger contactdetection portions (the thumb contact detection portions Tt0 or theindex finger detection portions Ti0) in which the finger (the thumb orthe index finger) that performs the input operation is in contact withthe touch sensor 21, may be stored so that the input operation performedwith the finger is accepted as a valid operation when the palm contactdetection portions Tp and the finger contact detection portions have apredetermined distance therebetween which is longer than the referencedistance.

The operation invalid area Ariv may be provided although not shown inFIG. 23. When the operation invalid area Ariv is provided, the range ofthe operation invalid area Ariv may be smaller than that in FIG. 8.

Fifth Embodiment

A control apparatus and method for controlling an operation targetdevice in a vehicle according to a fifth embodiment will be explainedbelow. Fundamental constitutions and operations in the fifth embodimentare the same as those in the first embodiment, and only differentelements will be explained below. The fifth embodiment shows stillanother constitution example of preventing occurrence of incorrectoperation.

In FIG. 13A to FIG. 13D, the combination patterns of the inputoperations with both right and left hands used as the particular inputoperation for controlling the operation target device were shown. Inorder to further decrease the occurrence of incorrect operation, thecontroller 10 may enable the input operation when the detector 10 adetects the same input operation being performed with both right andleft hands.

The controller 10 may enable the input operation when detecting the sameinput operation being performed concurrently with both right and lefthands.

Examples of the case where the same input operation is performedconcurrently with both right and left hands are explained below withreference to FIG. 24A to FIG. 24C.

FIG. 24A shows a case where left dragging D_(TL) to slide the thumb inthe left direction on the left touch sensor 21L and right draggingD_(TR) to slide the thumb in the right direction on the right touchsensor 21R are concurrently performed, as in the case of FIG. 13A.

FIG. 24A is an example of the same input operation of the dragging withboth right and left thumbs on the circular portion 200 r from the innercircumferential side to the outer circumferential side. Of course, thecase where the right dragging D_(TR) to slide the thumb in the rightdirection on the left touch sensor 21L and the right dragging D_(TR) toslide the thumb in the right direction on the right touch sensor 21R areconcurrently performed, or the case where the left dragging D_(TL) toslide the thumb in the left direction on the left touch sensor 21L andthe left dragging D_(TL) to slide the thumb in the left direction on theright touch sensor 21R are concurrently performed, may also be definedas the same input operation.

However, the symmetrical input operation as shown in FIG. 24A ispreferably defined as the same input operation.

FIG. 24B is an example in which downward dragging D_(TD) to slide thethumbs in the downward direction is performed concurrently on both theleft touch sensor 21L and the right touch sensor 21R, as in the case ofFIG. 13D.

The case where upward dragging D_(TU) to slide the thumbs in the upwarddirection is performed concurrently on both the left touch sensor 21Land the right touch sensor 21R, may also be defined as the same inputoperation.

In the case of the dragging to slide the fingers in the verticaldirection, the dragging not in a symmetrical manner but in the samedirection on right and left sides may be defined as the same inputoperation.

The index fingers may be used in place of the thumbs in FIG. 24 and FIG.24B.

FIG. 24C is an example in which tapping T to tap the touch sensor 21with the thumbs or the index fingers is performed concurrently on boththe left touch sensor 21L and the right touch sensor 21R.

The controller 10 determines that the input operation is performedconcurrently on both sides in the following cases. For example, as shownin FIG. 25A, the dragging may be conceived to be performed concurrentlyon both sides in a case where time TM_(L) from drag start timing t1 todrag end timing t3 performed with the left finger overlaps, for apredetermined period of time (at a predetermined rate) or more, withtime TM_(R) from drag start timing t2 to drag end timing t4 performedwith the right finger.

As shown in FIG. 25B, the dragging may be conceived to be performedconcurrently on both sides in a case where a predetermined period oftime TM_(P1) is measured from drag start timing t1 performed with, forexample, the left finger which starts dragging first, and dragging issequentially performed with the right finger within the time TM_(P1).Standards for determination on the input operation conceived to beperformed concurrently may be determined as appropriate.

Since the completely same input operation is not made with right andleft fingers, an allowable range for considering as the same inputoperation is arranged. In the case of the dragging, when the fingersslide in the same direction within the allowable range, the same inputoperation is considered to be performed.

In the case of the tapping T, the same input operation may be consideredto be performed when the tapping T is performed on the same position.When the position of the tapping T is the same on the front part 21 f orthe rear part 21 r, the tapping T is considered to be performed on thesame position.

That is, when the tapping T is performed with the thumbs concurrently onboth right and left sides or the tapping T is performed with the indexfingers concurrently on both right and left sides, the input operationmay be considered to be performed on the same position concurrently onboth right and left sides.

In order to preventing incorrect operation, an acceptance mode ofaccepting the particular input operation performed on the touch sensor21 as described above may be set in the controller 10, and the drivermay intentionally select the acceptance mode.

It is also required to prevent an unintentional shift to the acceptancemode when shifting from an unaccepted mode.

Therefore, when the detector 10 a detects the same input operation beingperformed with both hands on the respective touch sensors 21, thecontroller 10 shifts from the state of not accepting the particularinput operation to the state of accepting the particular input operation(the acceptance mode) as described above. The same input operation isthe same as explained with reference to FIG. 24A to FIG. 24C.

As is explained with reference to FIG. 25A and FIG. 25B, it ispreferable to shift to the acceptance mode when the same input operationperformed concurrently is detected.

In addition, when the particular input operation explained withreference to FIG. 11A to FIG. 11E, FIG. 12A to FIG. 12D and FIG. 13A toFIG. 13D is performed, and the particular input operation performed isthen fixed, the operation target device may be controlled according tothe particular input operation.

When the detector 10 a detects the state where the particular inputoperation as explained in FIG. 11A to FIG. 11E, FIG. 12A to FIG. 12D andFIG. 13A to FIG. 13D (a first particular input operation) beingperformed, and the detector 10 a then detects the particular inputoperation defined as the same input operation as explained in FIG. 24Ato FIG. 24C (a second particular input operation) being performed, thecontroller 10 fixes the last first particular input operation.

As explained with reference to FIG. 25A and FIG. 25B, when detecting thestate where the particular input operation defined as the same inputoperation is performed concurrently, the controller 10 may fix the lastfirst particular input operation.

As shown in FIG. 26, when the upward dragging D_(IU) with the left indexfinger is detected and the upward dragging D_(TU) with the right thumbis then detected within a predetermined period of time, the acceptancemode may be selected.

As shown in FIG. 27, when there is a predetermined period of timeTM_(P2) between time TM_(L) of the upward dragging D_(IU) with the leftindex finger and time TM_(R) of the upward dragging D_(TU) with theright thumb, the controller 10 determines that the upward draggingD_(IU) and the upward dragging D_(TU) are performed as the continuousinput operation so as to select the acceptance mode.

In addition, the target to be operated may be switched depending on thepattern of the input operations performed with the right and left hands.

For example, as shown in FIG. 28, when the detector 10 a detects a statewhere the upward dragging D_(IU) to slide the index finger in the upwarddirection on the left touch sensor 21L is performed and tapping T_(T) totap the right touch sensor 21R with the thumb is then repeated twice,the controller 10 selects an audio operation mode of operating the audioreproduction unit 12.

The controller 10 sets the audio reproduction unit 12 in the onboardequipment 100 as a target to be operated based on the particular inputoperation.

As shown in FIG. 29, when the detector 10 a detects a state where theupward dragging D_(TU) to slide the thumb in the upward direction on theleft touch sensor 21L is performed and the tapping T_(T) to tap theright touch sensor 21R with the thumb is then repeated twice, thecontroller 10 selects a navigation operation mode of operating thenavigation processing unit 11.

The controller 10 sets the navigation processing unit 11 in the onboardequipment 100 as a target to be operated based on the particular inputoperation. Note that the combination of each input operation is merelyan example and is not limited to FIG. 28 and FIG. 29.

In the constitution examples as explained with reference to FIG. 24A toFIG. 24C, FIG. 25A, FIG. 25B and FIG. 26 to FIG. 29, the respectiveoperations may be performed on the assumption that the driver isgripping the circular portion 200 r (the touch sensor 21).

Sixth Embodiment

A control apparatus and method for controlling an operation targetdevice in a vehicle according to a sixth embodiment will be explainedbelow. Fundamental constitutions and operations in the sixth embodimentare the same as those in the first embodiment, and only differentelements will be explained below. The sixth embodiment shows stillanother constitution example of preventing occurrence of incorrectoperation.

FIG. 30A shows an example of sorting the touch sensor 21 by color intothe grip detection area Arg, the operation invalid area Ariv and theoperation detection area Arv. The classification by color may be made byapplying paints or attaching sheets having different colors to therespective areas.

Sorting by color into the touch sensor 21 and other parts of thecircular portion 200 r other than the touch sensor 21 may also beeffective. In such a case, the touch sensor 21 may be colored, or theother parts may be colored.

Alternatively, different colors may be used in each of the other partsother than the touch sensor 21, the grip area Arg, the operation invalidarea Ariv and the operation detection area Arv.

FIG. 30B is an example in which the operation invalid area Ariv is notprovided, and the grip detection area Arg and the operation detectionarea Arv are sorted by color. When the touch sensor 21 and the otherparts of the circular portion 200 r other than the touch sensor 21 aresorted by color, the driver can visually recognize the position of thetouch sensor 21 clearly and immediately.

As shown in FIG. 30A and FIG. 30B, the classification by color into therespective areas can allow the driver to visually recognize thepositions of the respective areas on the touch sensor 21 clearly andimmediately. The color change sheet 41 described above may also be usedin FIG. 30A and FIG. 30B.

When the positions of the grip detection area Arg and the operationdetection area Arv are dynamically set according to the position of thetouch sensor 21 gripped by the driver, the color change sheet 41 may beused as follows.

The controller 10 arranges the grip detection area Arg and the operationdetection area Arv in the touch sensor 21 after the driver touches thetouch sensor 21 on the circular portion 200 r.

The controller 10 classifies the grip detection area Arg and theoperation detection area Arv by color after the arrangement of the gripdetection area Arg and the operation detection area Arv.

In either case, the classification by color may be made by applyingdifferent colors to the respective areas or coloring one area so as tosort by color consequently.

FIG. 31A shows an example of applying markers M1 and M2 with aparticular color to the respective boundaries of the grip detection areaArg, the detection invalid area Ariv and the operation detection areaArv. The application of the markers M1 and M2 is an example of boundarydistinction means for distinguishing the respective boundaries. Themarkers M1 and M2 may be provided by applying paints or seals.

FIG. 31B is an example in which the operation invalid area Ariv is notprovided, and a marker M3 with a particular color is applied to theboundary between the grip detection area Arg and the operation detectionarea Arv.

As shown in FIG. 31A and FIG. 31B, the indication of the boundaries canallow the driver to visually recognize the respective areas in the touchsensor 21 clearly and immediately.

FIG. 32 shows an example in which the diameter of the circular portion200 r in the operation detection area Arv is smaller than that in thegrip detection area Arg. FIG. 32 is a case where the operation invalidarea Ariv is not provided.

The diameter in the operation detection area Arv may be decreased to theextent that the driver can operate the steering wheel 200 withouthindrance and tactually recognize that the part with the smallerdiameter is located in the operation detection area Arv. The diameter ofthe boundary between the grip detection area Arg and the operationdetection area Arv may change gradually.

FIG. 33 shows an example in which the diameter of the circular portion200 r in the operation detection area Arv is larger than that in thegrip detection area Arg. FIG. 33 is a case where the operation invalidarea Ariv is not provided.

The diameter in the operation detection area Arv may be increased to theextent that the driver can operate the steering wheel 200 withouthindrance and tactually recognize that the part with the smallerdiameter is located in the operation detection area Arv. The diameter ofthe boundary between the grip detection area Arg and the operationdetection area Arv may change gradually.

In the constitution examples of FIG. 32 and FIG. 33, the diameter of thecircular portion 200 r changes in the boundary between the gripdetection area Arg and the operation detection area Arv. The change ofthe diameter may be an example of boundary distinction means forphysically distinguishing the boundary.

FIG. 34 shows an example in which recesses B1 and B2 are formed in therespective boundaries of the grip detection area Arg, the operationinvalid area Ariv and the operation detection area Arv.

The provision of the recesses B1 and B2 allows the driver to visuallyrecognize the respective areas and tactually recognize the respectiveareas when gripping the touch sensor 21. Although not shown in thefigure, a recess may be formed in the boundary between the gripdetection area Arg and the operation detection area Arv when theoperation invalid area Ariv is not provided.

The touch sensor 21 may be divided by the recesses B1 and B2 but is notrequired. The provision of the recesses B1 and B2 is another example ofboundary distinction means for physically distinguishing the respectiveboundaries.

FIG. 35 shows an example in which projections B3 and B4 are formed inthe respective boundaries of the grip detection area Arg, the operationinvalid area Ariv and the operation detection area Arv.

The provision of the projections B3 and B4 allows the driver to visuallyrecognize the respective areas and tactually recognize the respectiveareas when gripping the touch sensor 21. Although not shown in thefigure, a projection may be formed in the boundary between the gripdetection area Arg and the operation detection area Arv when theoperation invalid area Ariv is not provided.

The touch sensor 21 may be divided by the projections B3 and B4 but isnot required. The provision of the projections B3 and B4 is stillanother example of boundary distinction means for physicallydistinguishing the respective boundaries.

The following is an explanation of a constitution example of furtherdecreasing the occurrence of incorrect operation in a manner such thatthe driver accurately recognizes the position of the operation detectionarea Arv when the driver grips the grip detection area Arg.

FIG. 36A is a state where the driver is not gripping the grip detectionarea Arg. FIG. 36A is an example in which the operation invalid areaAriv is not provided.

FIG. 36B is a state where the driver is gripping the grip detection areaArg. In the constitution examples of FIG. 36A and FIG. 36B, the colorchange sheet 41 described above is placed on the lower surface side ofthe operation detection area Arv.

When the detector 10 a detects the grip detection area Arg beinggripped, the controller 10 changes the color of the color change sheet41 as shown in FIG. 36B. The change in color can allow the driver toclearly and visually recognize the position of the operation detectionarea Arv so as to further decreasing the occurrence of incorrectoperation.

FIG. 37A and FIG. 37B each show an example of placing the tactilefeedback sheet 42 described above on the upper surface of the operationdetection area Arv. FIG. 37A is a state where the driver is not grippingthe grip detection area Arg. FIG. 37B is a state where the driver isgripping the grip detection area Arg.

When the detector 10 a detects the grip detection area Arg beinggripped, the controller 10 controls the tactile feedback sheet 42 tochange the texture thereof to, for example, a coarse state.

Alternatively, when the detector 10 a detects the grip detection areaArg being gripped in a state where the texture of the tactile feedbacksheet 42 is in a coarse state shown in FIG. 37A, the controller 10 maychange the texture of the tactile feedback sheet 42 to a smooth state.

The change in texture of the tactile feedback sheet 42 can allow thedriver to clearly and visually recognize the position of the operationdetection area Arv so as to further decreasing the occurrence ofincorrect operation.

The case of changing the texture of the tactile feedback sheet 42 doesnot require the driver to visually recognize the operation detectionarea Arv, which contributes to safety driving. The way of changing thetexture of the tactile feedback sheet 42 is not particularly limited.

In the constitution examples of FIG. 36A, FIG. 36B, FIG. 37A and FIG.37B, when the color change sheet 41 or the tactile feedback sheet 42 isplaced not only on the operation detection area Arv but on the entirethe touch sensor 21, the color or texture in the operation detectionarea Arv can be changed even if the positions of the grip detection areaArg and the operation detection area Arv, and the operation invalid areaAriv as necessary, are determined dynamically depending on the positionin the touch sensor 21 gripped by the driver.

Although the color or texture is changed only in the operation detectionarea Arv in FIG. 36A, FIG. 36B, FIG. 37A and FIG. 37B, the color ortexture of each of the grip detection area Arg and the operationdetection area Arv may be changed in a manner such that the gripdetection area Arg and the operation detection area Arv have differentcolors or textures from each other.

Here, the color or texture of the respective areas may be changed so asto have different colors or textures from each other, or the color ortexture of only part of the areas may be changed so as to have differentcolors or textures consequently.

Although not shown in the figure, only the operation detection area Arvmay preliminarily have a different texture from each of the gripdetection area Arg and the operation detection area Arv.

Only the operation detection area Arv may be subjected to surfacetreatment to have a coarse, rough or smooth texture, or may be providedthereon with a sheet having such a texture so as to have a differenttexture form the grip detection area Arg and the operation invalid areaAriv.

The driver can clearly and tactually recognize the position theoperation detection area Arv due to such a process, although the processis not applicable to the case where the operation detection area Arv isdetermined dynamically.

As explained above with reference to FIG. 30A, FIG. 30B, FIG. 31A, FIG.31B, FIG. 32 to FIG. 35, FIG. 36A, FIG. 36B, FIG. 37A and FIG. 37B, thegrip detection area Arg and the operation detection area Arv areconfigured to be distinguishable from each other at least when thedetector detects the grip detection area Arg being gripped.

Note that the constitutions shown in FIG. 30A, FIG. 30B, FIG. 31A, FIG.31B, FIG. 32 to FIG. 35, FIG. 36A, FIG. 36B, FIG. 37A and FIG. 37B aremerely examples. Each of the constitutions shown in FIG. 30A, FIG. 30B,FIG. 31A, FIG. 31B, FIG. 32 to FIG. 35, FIG. 36A, FIG. 36B, FIG. 37A andFIG. 37B may be combined together.

The grip detection area Arg and the operation detection area Arv may beconfigured to be always distinguishable from each other. Alternatively,the grip detection area Arg and the operation detection area Arv may beconfigured to be distinguishable from each other only when detecting thegrip detection area Arg being gripped, so as to indicate whether theoperation input to the operation detection area Arv is acceptabledepending on whether the grip detection area Arg and the operationdetection area Arv are distinguishable from each other.

Seventh Embodiment

A control apparatus and method for controlling an operation targetdevice in a vehicle according to a seventh embodiment will be explainedbelow. Fundamental constitutions and operations in the seventhembodiment are the same as those in the first embodiment, and onlydifferent elements will be explained below.

FIG. 11A to FIG. 11E, FIG. 12A to FIG. 12D and FIG. 13A to FIG. 13D showseveral kinds of patterns of dragging to slide the fingers on the touchsensors 21 in the right-left direction or in the vertical direction.However, even when the driver intends to slide the fingers in theright-left direction or in the vertical direction as viewed from thedriver, a track made by contact of the finger is not necessarily astraight line and may be an arc-like curve. Further, a line connecting astarting point and an end point of dragging may greatly be shifted froma horizontal line or a vertical line.

This is because the surface of the circular portion 20 r is not flat,and because the movement of the finger tends to be a rotational movementabout the base of the finger.

FIG. 38 shows an example of a track when sliding the left finger on thetouch sensor 21 in the right-left direction. The left side in FIG. 38 isthe outer side of the circular portion 200 r, and the right side is theinner side of the circular portion 200 r. As shown in FIG. 38, theposition of the track on the inner side of the circular portion 200tends to be located below that on the outer side.

It is not preferred to require the driver to draw not an arc-like curvedline shown in FIG. 38 but a straight line in view of operability. Thus,according to the present embodiment, the controller 10 determines thatthe dragging is made in a straight line in the horizontal direction asshown in FIG. 39B when a difference dxh of components “x” in thehorizontal direction from a starting point Ps to an end point Pe of thetrack is a predetermined threshold value or greater, and a differencedyh of components “y” in a vertical direction is less than apredetermined threshold value as shown in FIG. 39A.

Alternatively, the controller 10 may determine that the dragging is madein a straight line in the horizontal direction when a ratio of thedifference dyh to the difference dxh (dyh/dxh) is less than apredetermined threshold value. For example, the threshold value is ½.

The dragging to slide the finger on the touch sensor 21 in the verticaldirection also tends to draw not a straight line but a curved line.

Thus, according to the present embodiment, the controller 10 determinesthat the dragging is made in a straight line in the vertical directionas shown in FIG. 40B when a difference dyv of components “y” from astarting point Ps to an ending point Pe of the track is a predeterminedthreshold value of greater, and a difference dxv of components “x” isless than a predetermined threshold value as shown in FIG. 40A.

When the threshold value for the difference dxh is defined as THxh, thethreshold value for the difference dyh is defined as THyh, the thresholdvalue for the difference dyv is defined as THyv, and the threshold valuefor the difference dxv is defined as THxv, it is preferable to fulfillthe conditions of THxv<THxh and THyh<THyv. The respective thresholdvalues are preliminarily stored in the controller 10.

As in the case of the dragging in the horizontal direction, thecontroller 10 may determine that the dragging is made in a straight linein the vertical direction when a ratio of the difference dxv to thedifference dyv (dxv/dyv) is less than a predetermined threshold value.For example, the threshold value is ½.

In order to increase the patterns of dragging, oblique dragging to slidethe finger in an oblique direction may be added. However, the obliquedragging tends to be difficult to be distinguished from the case wherethe driver slides the finger in the right-left direction as shown inFIG. 38 that unintentionally results in an arc-like curve.

In view of this, oblique dragging defined as follows further improvesthe operability. FIG. 41A shows a state of sliding one of the fingers inthe right direction on the left touch sensor 21L and a state of slidingone of the fingers in the downward direction on the right touch sensor21R.

In such a case, the controller 10 can consider the operation on the lefttouch sensor 21L as right dragging D_(R) and consider the operation onthe right touch sensor 21R as downward dragging D_(D) as shown in FIG.41B according to the track correction as explained in FIG. 39A, FIG.39B, FIG. 40A and FIG. 40B.

As shown in FIG. 41C, an oblique vector V_(O) is obtained by compositionof a vector V_(R) of the right dragging D_(R) and a vector V_(D) of thedownward dragging D_(D). Thus, when the right dragging D_(R) isperformed on the left touch sensor 21L and the downward dragging D_(D)is performed on the right touch sensor 21R, the controller 10 obtainsthe oblique vector V_(O) by the composition of the vectors so as todetermine that the oblique dragging D_(O) having the oblique vectorV_(O) is performed as shown in FIG. 41D.

FIG. 41D shows an example of the oblique dragging D_(O) in the obliquelylower right direction. Alternatively, the oblique dragging D_(O) in theobliquely upper right direction, the oblique dragging D_(O) in theobliquely lower left direction, or the oblique dragging D_(O) in theobliquely upper left direction may also be performed. The obliquedragging D_(O) achieved according to the present embodiment improves theoperability.

When, for example, upper dragging is performed both on the left touchsensor 21L and on the right touch sensor 21R, the controller 10 maycontrol an operation performed based on a larger vector obtained bycomposition of the two drag vectors in the same direction (in the upwarddirection in this case).

Such an operation controlled by the controller 10 can achieve widescrolling on a map only by one dragging so as to improve operability.

In addition, a specific operation may be performed when a direction of avector of dragging performed on the left touch sensor 21L is opposite tothat of a vector of dragging performed on the right touch sensor 21R andwhen the angle between the two vectors is close to 180° (for example,180° with a margin of plus or minus α: α is an arbitrary angle). Forexample, a map may be rotated.

As explained above, the controller 10 according to the presentembodiment controls the operation target device according to thecombination patterns of the input operation on the left touch sensor 21Land the input operation on the right touch sensor 21R.

Note that, although the present embodiment exemplified the vectorcomposition on the basis of the four directions of the upward direction,the downward direction, the left direction and the right direction, thevector composition may be made on the basis of more directions.

A difference between a track of dragging that the user intends and atrack of dragging actually made tends to be in a symmetric state, andthe track deviation may be cleared by performing the vector composition.Here, only the correction of dragging to draw a straight line connectingfrom the starting point to the end point of the track may be performed,and the direction consideration of the dragging which is either in thehorizontal direction or in the vertical direction described above may beomitted.

Eighth Embodiment

A control apparatus and method for controlling an operation targetdevice in a vehicle according to an eighth embodiment will be explainedbelow. Fundamental constitutions and operations in the eighth embodimentare the same as those in the first embodiment, and only differentelements will be explained below. Although the way of defining draggingin the horizontal direction and in the vertical direction in the eighthembodiment is different from that in the seventh embodiment, the trackcorrection when sliding fingers and the operation of the vectorcomposition are the same as those in the seventh embodiment.

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 42, an operation to slidethe finger on the touch sensor 21 in the diameter direction of thecircular portion 200 r (the steering wheel 200) is defined as horizontaldragging Dh, and an operation to slide the finger in the circumferentialdirection of the circular portion 200 r is defined as vertical draggingDv.

FIG. 43 shows a development of the touch sensor 21 obtained by addingthe horizontal dragging Dh and the vertical dragging Dv to thedevelopment of FIG. 8. FIG. 42 and FIG. 43 each show a case where thehorizontal dragging Dh and the vertical dragging Dv are each shown inone row of the detection regions R on the respective X-coordinate andY-coordinate respectively. However, the dragging may be made in a mannersuch that the finger comes into contact with plural rows of thedetection regions R.

FIG. 11A to FIG. 11E, FIG. 12A to FIG. 12D and FIG. 13A to FIG. 13D showseveral kinds of patterns of dragging to slide the fingers on the touchsensors 21 in the right-left direction or in the vertical direction.However, even when the driver intends to perform the horizontal draggingDh or the vertical dragging Dv described above, the fingers do notnecessarily slide in the radial direction or in the circumferentialdirection appropriately.

As is apparent from the development of FIG. 43, when the horizontaldragging Dr or the vertical dragging Dv is performed appropriately, thetrack obtained by contact of the finger results in a straight line.However, the track is not necessarily in a straight line and mayactually result in a curved line. In addition, a line connecting astarting point and an end point of dragging may greatly deviate from thehorizontal direction or the vertical direction.

The track correction and the operation of the vector composition in theeighth embodiment are the same as those in the seventh embodiment withreference to FIG. 38, FIG. 39A, FIG. 39B, FIG. 40A, FIG. 40B and FIG.42A to FIG. 41C, and the explanations thereof are not repeated here.

Ninth Embodiment

A control apparatus and method for controlling an operation targetdevice in a vehicle according to a ninth embodiment will be explainedbelow. Fundamental constitutions and operations in the ninth embodimentare the same as those in the first embodiment, and only differentelements will be explained below.

A constitution example of the ninth embodiment in which the deformedsteering wheel 201 shown in FIG. 5 is further developed is explainedbelow with reference to FIG. 44, FIG. 45, FIG. 46 and FIG. 47A to FIG.47C.

As shown in FIG. 44, a deformed steering wheel 202 includes gripportions 202 s having a right cylindrical shape formed in part of thecircular portion 200 r on both right and left sides that the drivergrips. The pair of grip portions 202 s on the right and left sides areconnected via an upper connecting portion 202 c 1 and a lower connectingportion 202 c 2 so as to form a ring portion 202 r. The touch sensor 21is mounted on each grip portion 202 s.

FIG. 45 is an enlarged view showing the boundary between the connectingportion 202 c 1 and the grip portion 202 s surrounded by a dashed-dottedline in FIG. 44. FIG. 46 is a cross-sectional view along the line A-A inFIG. 45.

The grip portion 202 s is formed to have a slightly smaller diameterthan the connecting portions 202 c 1 and 202 c 2, and the touch sensor21 is mounted on the grip portion 202 s. Therefore, there is almost nodifference in level at the boundary between the grip portion 202 s andthe respective connecting portions 202 c 1 and 202 c 2 so as to providea continuously smooth surface.

In the deformed steering wheel 202 shown in FIG. 44, the driver switchesthe ON/OFF state of the input operation performed on the touch sensor 21by operating the grip portion 202 s.

The ON state of the input operation is to allow (enable) the particularinput operation described above, and the OFF state of the inputoperation is not to allow (disable) the particular input operationdescribed above.

The grip portion 202 s has an ON/OFF switching mechanism installedtherein, which switches the input operation between the ON state and theOFF state.

The ON/OFF switching mechanism and the switching operation with theON/OFF switching mechanism are explained below with reference to FIG. 46and FIG. 47A to FIG. 47C. FIG. 47A to FIG. 47C each show across-sectional view along the line B-B of FIG. 45. As shown in FIG. 46,the end portion of the connecting portion 202 c 1 towards the gripportion 202 s is provided with a protrusion 27. The end portion of thegrip portion 202 s towards the connecting portion 202 c 1 is providedwith a receiving portion 28 having a recess to receive the protrusion27.

As shown in FIG. 47A to FIG. 47C, part of the protrusion 27 in thecircumferential direction is provided with a cutout serving as a recess27 cp. An elastic deforming portion 29 having a projection 29 p is fixedto the recess 27 cp. Two recesses 28 cp 1 and 28 cp 2 are formed on theinner surface of the receiving portion 28.

In the normal state of the deformed steering wheel 202, the grip portion202 s is in the state shown in FIG. 47A. Namely, the projection 29 p isengaged with the recess 28 cp 1. FIG. 47A shows a state where the inputoperation performed on the touch sensor 21 is in the OFF state. When thedriver normally drives the vehicle without operating the operationtarget device with the touch sensor 21, the ON/OFF switching mechanismis in the OFF state shown in FIG. 47A.

Once the grip portion 202 s in the OFF state shown in FIG. 47A rotatestowards the outer circumference of the deformed steering wheel 202, theengagement between the projection 29 p and the recess 28 cp 1 isreleased as shown in FIG. 47B so that the projection 29 p comes intocontact with a protruding portion between the recesses 28 cp 1 and 28 cp2. At this point, the elastic deforming portion 29 is pressed anddeformed by the protruding portion between the recesses 28 cp 1 and 28cp 2.

When the grip portion 202 s further rotates towards the outercircumference of the deformed steering wheel 202, the projection 29 p isengaged with the recess 28 cp 2 as shown in FIG. 47C so that the inputoperation performed on the touch sensor 21 is in the ON state.

Although not shown n the figure, the OFF state of the input operation onthe touch sensor 21 shown in FIG. 47A and the ON state of the inputoperation on the touch sensor 21 shown in FIG. 47C are each electricallydetected. A state detection signal from the ON/OFF switching mechanismin the grip portion 202 s is input into the controller 10.

The driver selects the state shown in FIG. 47A when normally driving thevehicle without operating the operation target device with the touchsensor 21 and selects the state shown in FIG. 47C by rotating the gripportion 202 s towards the outer circumference when intending to operatethe operation target device with the touch sensor 21.

At the point where the projection 29 p is engaged with the recess 28 cp2 when shifting from the state of FIG. 47A to the state of FIG. 47C, andat the point where the projection 29 p is engaged with the recess 28 cp1 when shifting from the state of FIG. 47C to the state of FIG. 47A, thedriver can ensure a feeling of clicking so as to recognize that the ONstate and the OFF state are switched.

The ON/OFF switching mechanism shown in FIG. 47A to FIG. 47C may beprovided in each of or in one of the grip portions 202 s on the rightand left sides. When the ON/OFF switching mechanism is provided in eachof the right and left grip portions 202 s, the input operation may be inthe ON state when the right and left grip portions 202 s are both in theON state, or the input operation may be in the ON state when one of thegrip portions 202 s is in the ON state. Alternatively, the inputoperation may be in the ON state when the grip portion 202 s rotatestowards the inner circumference.

In the constitution example of FIG. 44, since a sense of touch (afeeling of gripping) of the driver when gripping the grip portion 202 sdoes not change between the ON state and the OFF state of the inputoperation, there is no adverse effect on the driver.

In the constitution of the touch sensor 21 mounted on the grip portion202 s in the deformed steering wheel 202 shown in FIG. 44, the touchsensor 21 is not required to have a complicated shape as explained inFIG. 8 and may have a simple plane surface as shown in FIG. 9.

Therefore, the shape of the touch sensor 21 can be simplified so thatthe touch sensor 21 itself can be manufactured at lower cost. Further,the process of mounting the touch sensor 21 on the steering wheel (thedeformed steering wheel 202) is simplified so that the control apparatusfor controlling the operation target device can be manufactured at lowercost accordingly.

The ON/OFF switching mechanism is a rotation switch to rotate in thecircumferential direction. The touch sensor 21 mounted on the gripportion 202 s having the ON/OFF switching mechanism may include the gripdetection area Arg, the operation detection area Arv and the operationinvalid area Ariv as explained in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9.

However, since whether the driver has the intention of operating theoperation target device or not is determined clearly due to theprovision of the ON/OFF switching mechanism, only the operationdetection area Arv may be provided without the grip detection area Argand the operation invalid area Ariv. In other words, the operationdetection area Arv may be provided on the entire surface of the touchsensor 21.

Next, processing executed by the controller 10 when using the deformedsteering wheel 202 is explained below with reference to the flowchartshown in FIG. 48.

In FIG. 48, the controller 10 determines whether the ON/OFF switchingmechanism is in the ON state in step S21. When the controller 10determines that the ON/OFF switching mechanism is not in the ON state(NO), the controller 10 returns to step S21. When the controller 10determines that the ON/OFF switching mechanism is in the ON state (YES),the controller 10 obtains sensor data output from the sensor datagenerator 22 in step S22.

The controller 10 determines whether the input operation was performedbased on the detection output from the detector 10 a in step S23.

When the controller 10 determines that the input operation was performed(YES), the controller proceeds to step S24. When the controller 10determines that the input operation was not performed (NO), thecontroller 10 returns to step S21.

The controller 10 determines in step S24 whether to allow the operationperformed on the operation target device according to the inputoperation determined in step S23. When the controller 10 determines toallow the operation (YES), the controller 10 proceeds to step S25. Whenthe operation is not allowable (NO), the controller 10 returns to stepS21.

The controller 10 allows the operation performed on the operation targetdevice when the particular input operation was performed on the touchsensor 21. The controller 10 fixes the operation based on the inputoperation in step S25, controls the operation target device according tothe fixed operation in step S26, and returns to step S21.

Although the example shown in FIG. 48 does not include the processcorresponding to step S2 in FIG. 4, the process of determining whetherthe grip portion 202 s is gripped which corresponds to the step S2 inFIG. 4 may be carried out between step S22 and step S23.

As in the case of the constitution example shown in FIG. 44, thecontroller 10 can objectively determine whether the driver has theintention of operating the operation target device due to the provisionof the grip portion 202 s having the ON/OFF switching mechanism.

Accordingly the occurrence of incorrect operation can greatly bedecreased. The grip portion 202 s may return to the normal state shownin FIG. 47A when a vehicle equipped with an engine stops the engine orwhen an electric vehicle disconnects the power. In such a case, a motormay be installed in the grip portion 202 s to return to the state ofFIG. 47A from the state of FIG. 47C.

The touch sensor 21 may be detachably mounted on the circular portion200 r or the ring portion 202 r by use of a hook-and-loop fastener.Although the circular portion 200 r serves as the grip portion, the gripportion is not necessarily formed into a circular shape. The gripportion may be deformed as in the case of the ring portion 202 r, or isnot necessarily in a ring shape.

In the deformed steering wheel 202 shown in FIG. 44, the receivingportion having a recess may be formed on the connecting portion 202 c 1or 202 c 2 side, and the protrusion may be formed on the grip portion202 s side, so as to engage the grip portion 202 s with the connectingportion 202 c 1 or 202 c 2.

The constitution shown in FIG. 46 and FIG. 47A to FIG. 47C is an exampleof the ON/OFF switching mechanism, and the present embodiment is notlimited only to the constitution shown in FIG. 46 and FIG. 47A to FIG.47C.

Tenth Embodiment

A control apparatus for controlling an operation target device in avehicle according to a tenth embodiment will be explained below. Thetenth embodiment is at least one embodiment of a driver specificationmethod. Fundamental constitutions and operations in the tenth embodimentare the same as those in the first embodiment, and only differentelements will be explained below.

An embodiment of a driver specification method for specifying a driverdriving a vehicle by use of the control apparatus for controlling anoperation target device according to the present embodiment is explainedbelow.

If a driver can be specified, the onboard equipment 100 can be set to anappropriate condition depending on the driver, or the vehicle can be setto an appropriate condition depending on the driver.

For example, a case may be conceived where the driver operates the audioreproduction unit 12 to automatically reproduce compositions frequentlyreproduced or to display compositions frequently reproduced in front ofa list of compositions. In addition, a case may be conceived where anair conditioner is set to an appropriate condition or a seat is adjustedto an appropriate position depending on the driver.

Examples of specifying a driver are explained below with reference toFIG. 49 to FIG. 51. FIG. 49 shows an example of a contact state in thepalm contact detection portions Tp and the thumb contact detectionportions Tt when the driver intends to drive a vehicle and grips thecircular portion 200 r.

In this state, the thumb contact detection portions Tt are positionedclose to the palm contact detection portions Tp since the driver doesnot intend to operate the operation target device with the touch sensor21. FIG. 49 does not show the index finger contact detection portionsTi.

The controller 10 detects a length of the touched portions in the gripdetection area Arg on the X-coordinate. In FIG. 49, the sum of a lengthLx1 and a length Lx2 are the length of the touched portions on theX-coordinate.

FIG. 50 shows a state where the divided palm contact detection portionsTp in FIG. 49 are connected together, and shows a length Lx of thetouched portions on the X-coordinate. The length Lx is information thatshows a length of the portions gripped with the palm on the touch sensor21 (the palm contact detection portions Tp) in the circumferentialdirection in the cross section when the circular portion 200 r is cut inthe radial direction.

The length Lx is a first example of holding state recognition datashowing how the driver grips the part of the circular portion 200 r onwhich the touch sensor 21 is mounted.

Although the controller 10 is configured to detect the length Lx, thecontroller 10 may obtain the number of the detection regions Rcorresponding to the length Lx. Of course, the number of the detectionregions R corresponding to the length Lx can be converted into an actualdistance.

The controller 10 also detects a length Lya of the thumb contactdetection portions Tt and the palm contact detection portions Tp on theY-coordinate. The length Lya is information that shows a lengthdetermined according to the portions in contact with the palm (the palmcontact detection portions Tp) and the portions in contact with thethumb (the thumb contact detection portions Tt) on the touch sensor 21in the circumferential direction of the steering wheel 200 (the circularportion 200 r).

The length Lya is a second example of the holding state recognition datashowing how the driver grips the part of the circular portion 200 r onwhich the touch sensor 21 is mounted.

Although the controller 10 is configured to detect the length Lya, thecontroller 10 may obtain the number of the detection regions Rcorresponding to the length Lya. Of course, the number of the detectionregions R corresponding to the length Lya can be converted into anactual distance.

In FIG. 49, the length between one end of the portions in contact withthe palm on the opposite side of the other end towards the portions incontact with the thumb and one end of the portions in contact with thethumb on the opposite side of the other end towards the portions incontact with the palm, is defined as the length Lya. Although thepresent embodiment is not limited thereto, the above-described lengthshown in FIG. 49 is preferably defined as the length Lya.

The controller 10 further detects the total number of the detectionregions R detected as touched regions (the contact detection regiontotal number) in FIG. 49. The contact detection region total numbercorresponds to the area with which the hand of the driver is in contact.An actual area may be calculated based on the detected detection regionsR.

Note that the contact detection region total number may be the totalnumber of the detection regions R detected as touched regions in all ofthe grip detection area Arg, the operation detection area Arv and theoperation invalid area Ariv, or may be the total number of the detectionregions R detected as touched regions only in the grip detection areaArg.

The information corresponding to the area in the touch sensor 21 withwhich the hand is in contact is a third example of the holding staterecognition data showing how the driver grips the part of the circularportion 200 r on which the touch sensor 21 is mounted.

The driver specification may be executed according to the lengths Lx andLya and the contact detection region total number. The driverspecification may be executed only according to the lengths Lx and Lyaor may be executed only according to the contact detection region totalnumber although the specifying accuracy slightly decreases. The driverspecification may be executed only according to the length Lx or onlyaccording to the length Lya.

In order to further increase the accuracy of specifying a driver in thepresent embodiment, the controller 10 detects, on the Y-coordinate, alength Lyb of the palm contact detection portions Tp and the thumbcontact detection portions Tt in a state where the driver stretches thethumb to operate the operation target device.

FIG. 51 shows a state where the driver stretches the thumb to operatethe operation target device. In this case, the length Lyb of the palmcontact detection portions Tp and the thumb contact detection portionsTt on the Y-coordinate is longer than the length Lya.

For example, the length Lyb can be immediately detected by use of voicedirections such as, “For specifying a driver, please stretch the thumband operate the touch sensor” after the detection of the lengths Lx andLya and the contact detection region total number. The length Lyb may bedetected after the driver actually starts operating the touch sensor 21without any voice direction.

Although the length between one end of the portions in contact with thepalm on the opposite side of the other end towards the portions incontact with the thumb and one end of the portions in contact with thethumb on the opposite side of the other end towards the portions incontact with the palm, is also defined as the length Lyb, the presentembodiment is not limited thereto.

However, the above-described length shown in FIG. 51 is preferablydefined as the length Lyb. The length Lyb is a fourth example of theholding state recognition data showing how the driver grips the part ofthe circular portion 200 r on which the touch sensor 21 is mounted.

FIG. 52 shows an example of a driver database stored in the storage unit18. The lengths Lx, Lya and Lyb and the contact detection region totalnumber are registered as driver specification data of each of drivers A,B and C.

Since each data of the lengths Lx, Lya and Lyb and the contact detectionregion total number does not necessarily result in the same value eachtime for each driver, an average value of each data is preferablyregistered every time the driver is specified. The driver specificationdata shows how the part of the circular portion 200 r on which the touchsensor 21 is mounted is gripped. As described above, the informationabout the driver specification data may be registered corresponding tothe holding state recognition data obtained by the controller 10 for thedriver specification.

The controller 10 may recognize the shape of the palm contact detectionportions Tp and use the shape as an element for the driverspecification. Although the thumb contact detection portions Tt are usedin this example described above, the index finger contact detectionportions Ti may be used in place of the thumb contact detection portionsTt or in addition to the thumb contact detection portions Tt.

Next, processing of specifying a driver executed by the controller 10 isexplained below with reference to FIG. 53. As shown in FIG. 53, thecontroller 10 obtains sensor data output from the sensor data generator22 in step S21.

The controller 10 then obtains the lengths Lx and Lya in step S22. Thecontroller 10 can obtain the lengths Lx and Lya since the driver firstgrips the circular portion 200 r for driving the vehicle.

As described above, the detector 10 a detects the driver gripping thecircular portion 200 r (the touch sensor 21) based on the sensor dataoutput from the sensor data generator 22. Thus, the controller 10 mayobtain the lengths Lx and Lya after detecting the circular portion 200 rbeing gripped. The controller 10 obtains the contact detection regiontotal number in step S23. The order of step S22 and step S23 may bereversed.

The controller 10 obtains the length Lyb in step S24 after thecontroller 10 instructs the driver to stretch the thumb or after thedriver starts operating the touch sensor 21. The process of step S24 maybe omitted.

In step S25, the controller 10 compares the obtained holding staterecognition data of the length Lx, Lya and Lyb and the contact detectionregion total number with the driver specification data registered in thedriver database so as to determine whether the obtained holding staterecognition data corresponds to the driver specification data of anydriver.

Here, the respective pieces of data of the same driver do notnecessarily correspond to each other. Therefore, the controller 10 setsa predetermined allowable range in the registered driver specificationdata and determines that the respective pieces of data correspond toeach other when the obtained holding state recognition data of thelengths Lx, Lya and Lyb and the contact detection region total number isincluded in the allowable range.

When the controller 10 determines that the obtained holding staterecognition data corresponds to the data of one of the drivers in stepS25 (YES), the controller 10 specifies the driver in step S26, carriesout the control corresponding to the driver in step S27 and finishes theprocessing. The control corresponding to the driver is to adjust thestate of the onboard equipment 100 or the vehicle to appropriateconditions corresponding to the respective drivers.

Note that, if the driver is specified during driving of the vehicle, theposition of the seat among the conditions of the vehicle is, of course,not adjusted.

When the controller 10 determines that there is no driver correspondingto the data in step S25 (NO), the controller 10 determines in step S28whether the instruction to register the data in the driver database wascarried out.

When the controller 10 determines that the instruction to register thedata in the driver database was carried out (YES), the controller 10 instep S29 relates the name of the driver input by the operation unit (notshown in FIG. 1) to the obtained holding state recognition data of thelengths Lx, Lya and Lyb and the contact detection region total number,registers the related data in the driver database as the driverspecification data and finishes the processing.

When the controller 10 determines that the instruction to register thedata in the driver database was not carried out (NO), the controller 10immediately finishes the processing.

As is apparent from the explanation above, the controller 10 is a driverspecification unit that obtains the holding state recognition datashowing how the driver grips the part of the circular portion 200 r onwhich the touch sensor 21 is mounted based on the sensor data outputfrom the sensor data generator 22 and compares the holding staterecognition data with the driver specification data so as to specify thedriver.

At the point of specifying the driver, the controller 10 learns a mannerby which the onboard equipment 100 is operated and a situation where thevehicle is placed so as to recognize the characteristics of therespective drivers.

Although FIG. 1 does not show the operation of inputting informationabout conditions of the air conditioner or information about a positionof a seat into the controller 10, these pieces of information may besupplied to the controller 10 via the in-vehicle communication unit 34.

Next, other examples of the holding state recognition data obtained tospecify a driver is explained with reference to FIG. 54A and FIG. 54B.The gripping position on the circular portion 200 r varies depending onthe driver. Therefore, the gripping position in the circular portion 200r may be detected to be used as the holding state recognition data forthe driver specification.

When the positions of the grip detection area Arg and the operationdetection area Arv, and the operation invalid area Ariv used asnecessary, are determined dynamically depending on the position on thetouch sensor 21 that the driver grips, the gripping position on thecircular portion 200 r may be used as the holding state recognition datafor the driver specification.

FIG. 54A is a state where the driver grips the lower end of the touchsensor 21, which is set as the grip detection area Arg. FIG. 54B is astate where the driver grips the position slightly above and away fromthe lower end of the touch sensor, which is set as the grip detectionarea Arg.

The position where the grip detection area Arg is arranged in the touchsensor 21 may be determined based on the Y-coordinate. For example,based on the integrated value on the Y-coordinate in the grip detectionarea Arg, the driver is conceived to grip a lower portion of the touchsensor 21 as the integrated value is smaller and conceived to grip anupper portion of the touch sensor 21 as the integrated value is larger.

The information showing the gripping position in the circumferentialdirection of the steering wheel 200 is registered in the driver databaseshown in FIG. 52 as the driver specification data. The controller 10obtains, as the holding state recognition data, the information showingthe gripping position in the circumferential direction of the steeringwheel 200.

The information showing the gripping position on the steering wheel 200is a fifth example of the holding state recognition data showing how thedriver grips the part of the circular portion 200 r on which the touchsensor 21 is mounted. The driver may be specified based on theinformation showing the gripping position on the steering wheel 200although the accuracy of the driver specification decreases.

The first to fifth examples of the holding state recognition datadescribed above may be combined as appropriate. One or plural examplesmay be selected as appropriate in view of the accuracy of the driverspecification. Of course, the use of all of the first to fifth examplessignificantly increases the accuracy of the driver specification.

The present invention is not limited to the first to tenth embodimentsdescribed above, and various modifications and improvements can be madewithout departing from the scope of the present invention. The first totenth embodiments described above may be combined as appropriate.

The first to tenth embodiments may be used as a control apparatus forcontrolling an arbitrary operation target device in the vehicle. Theseembodiments may also be used for any vehicles other than automobiles.Further, these embodiments may be used as a control apparatus forcontrolling games in game machines using operation units (controllers)such as steering wheels.

The detailed description described above discloses control apparatusesfor controlling an operation target device in a vehicle at leastdescribed below in addition to control apparatuses for controlling anoperation target device in a vehicle described in claims.

A control apparatus for controlling an operation target device in avehicle, comprising:

a data sensor generator that includes a plurality of detection regionsand configured to generate sensor data including positional data showingwhich detection region is touched based on a contact detection signalobtained from a touch sensor mounted in a predetermined range of a gripportion that a driver grips on a steering wheel;

a detector configured to detect whether the driver grips the gripportion and detect an input operation performed on the touch sensorbased on the sensor data; and

a controller configured to, when the detector detects the drivergripping the grip portion and detects a particular input operation beingperformed on the touch sensor, control an operation target device to beoperated with the touch sensor according to the particular inputoperation.

A steering wheel comprising:

a grip portion that a driver grips;

a touch sensor including a plurality of detection regions and mounted inand covering a predetermined range of the grip portion;

a sensor data generator configured to generate sensor data includingpositional data showing which detection region is touched based on acontact detection signal obtained from the touch sensor;

a detector configured to detect whether the driver grips the touchsensor in the grip portion and detect an input operation performed onthe touch sensor based on the sensor data; and

a control signal generator configured to, when the detector detects thedriver gripping the touch sensor and detects a particular inputoperation being performed on the touch sensor, control an operationtarget device to be operated with the touch sensor according to theparticular input operation.

A control apparatus for controlling an operation target device in avehicle, comprising:

a data sensor generator that includes a plurality of detection regionsand configured to generate sensor data including positional data showingwhich detection region is touched based on a contact detection signalobtained from a touch sensor mounted in and covering a predeterminedrange of a grip portion that a driver grips on a steering wheel of avehicle;

a detector configured to detect an input operation performed on thetouch sensor based on the sensor data; and

a controller configured to, when the detector detects a particular inputoperation being performed on the touch sensor, control an operationtarget device to be operated with the touch sensor according to theparticular input operation, the controller disabling a control performedon the operation target device when the vehicle is in a particularstate.

A control apparatus for controlling an operation target device in avehicle, comprising:

a data sensor generator that includes a plurality of detection regionsand configured to generate sensor data including positional data showingwhich detection region is touched based on a contact detection signalobtained from a touch sensor mounted in a predetermined range of a gripportion that a driver grips on a steering wheel;

a detector configured to detect an input operation performed on thetouch sensor based on the sensor data; and

a controller configured to switch from a state where a first particularinput operation performed on an operation target device to be operatedwith the touch sensor is not accepted to a state where the firstparticular input operation is accepted when the detector detects apredetermined input operation being performed with each of right andleft hands of the driver on the touch sensor.

What is claimed is:
 1. A control apparatus for controlling an operationtarget device in a vehicle, comprising: a touch sensor mounted on a gripportion that a driver grips on a steering wheel, the touch sensorincluding a first area, a second area and a third area, the first arealocated in an area where a palm of the driver makes contact, the secondarea located on an upper side of the first area and located in an areawhere a thumb or an index finger of the driver makes contact, the thirdarea provided as an operation invalid area where an operation input isinvalid and located between the first area and the second area; a firstdetector configured to detect a state where the first area is touched; asecond detector configured to detect a state where a particular inputoperation is performed on the second area, the particular inputoperation being a sliding pattern by the thumb or the index finger onthe second area; and a controller configured to control an operationtarget device to be operated with the touch sensor according to thesliding pattern when the first detector detects the state where thefirst area is touched by the palm and the second detector detects thestate where the sliding pattern was performed on the second area by thethumb or the index finger.
 2. The control apparatus for controlling anoperation target device in a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein thefirst detector determines that the first area is touched by the palmwhen the first detector detects a predetermined area or greater of thefirst area being touched.
 3. The control apparatus for controlling anoperation target device in a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein thesecond area includes a front side facing the driver and a rear side, thesecond detector detects the state where the sliding pattern wasperformed on the front side by the thumb and the state where slidingpattern was performed on the rear side by the index finger.
 4. A methodfor controlling an operation target device in a vehicle, the vehiclecomprising a touch sensor mounted on a grip portion that a driver gripson a steering wheel the touch sensor comprising a first area, a secondarea and a third area, the first area located in an area where a palm ofthe driver makes contact, the second area located on an upper side ofthe first area and located in an area where a thumb or an index fingerof the driver makes contact, the third area provided as an operationinvalid area where an operation input is invalid located between thefirst area and the second area, the method comprising: detecting a statewhere the first area is touched; detecting a particular input operationbeing performed on the second, area, the particular input operationbeing a sliding pattern by the thumb or the index finger on the secondarea; and controlling an operation target device to be operated with thetouch sensor according to the sliding pattern when the state where thefirst area is touched by the palm is detected and the sliding patternwas performed on the second area by the thumb or the index finger. 5.The method for controlling an operation target device in a vehicleaccording to claim 4, wherein the state where the first area is touchedby the palm is detected when detecting a predetermined area or greaterof the first area being touched.
 6. The method for controlling anoperation target device in a vehicle according to claim 4, wherein thesecond area includes a front side facing the driver and a rear side,further comprising detection of the state where the sliding pattern bythe thumb on the front side was performed and detection of the statewhere the sliding pattern by the index finger on the rear side wasperformed.